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n  VA  nrii T*     A  t  thrt't  x^vr\     ^-^  i-* 

By  THE  AUTHOR  OF 

THE  HOUSF 

1 1  I  L  1  Ivx •U.k/Ju 


THE  DAZZLING  MISS  DAVISON 


BMV,  OF  CAUT-  LIBRARY,  LOS  ANCttES 


THE    DAZZLING 
MISS  DAVISON 


BY 

FLORENCE   WARDEN 

AUTHOR   OF 
"THE  HOUSE  ON  THE  MARSH" 


NEW  YORK 

THE  H.  K.  FLY  COMPANY 
PUBLISHERS 


Copyright,  1910,  by 
THE  NEW  IDEA  PUBLISHING  CO. 

Copyright,  1910,  by 
THE  H.  K.  FLY  COMPANY 


Entered  at  Stationers'  Hall,  London 
(All  Rights  Reserved) 


Printed  in  the  United  States  of  America 


THE  DAZZLING  MISS 
DAVISON 

CHAPTER  I 

A  ROOMY,  comfortable,  old-fashioned  house  in  Bays- 
water,  with  high  windows,  big  rooms,  and  little  bal- 
conies just  big  enough  to  hold  a  wealth  of  flowers 
in  summer  and  a  very  pretty  show  of  evergreens  when 
the  season  for  flowers  was  past. 

On  October  a  row  of  asters,  backed  up  by  a  taller 
row  of  foliage  plants,  made  the  house  look  bright 
and  pretty,  and  the  young  faces  that  appeared  at  the 
windows  of  the  drawing-room  made  it  prettier  still. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Aldington,  the  occupiers  of  the 
house,  thought  that  there  was  nothing  pleasanter  in 
life  than  the  gayety  of  young  people,  and  so,  as  they 
had  only  two  children,  a  son  and  a  daughter,  both 
grown  up,  they  gave  a  general  invitation  to  the 
younger  generation,  of  which,  particularly  on  a  Sun- 
day afternoon  and  evening,  the  contemporaries  of 
their  son  and  daughter  were  not  slow  to  avail  them- 
selves. 

Especially  was  it  the  pleasure  of  these  good- 
1 


2133357 


2  THE  DAZZLING 

hearted  people  to  extend  hospitality  to  those  young 
folks  whose  lives  were,  for  one  reason  or  another, 
not  so  bright  as  those  of  their  own  children.  And 
many  a  friendless  young  barrister  waiting  for  a  brief, 
young  doctor  struggling  for  a  practice,  and  many  a 
girl  whose  parents  had  a  hard  time  of  it  in  keeping 
up  a  fair  position  on  an  unfairly  small  income,  found 
recreation  and  a  warm  welcome  at  the  old-fashioned 
house  in  Bayswater. 

Some  of  them  found  more  than  that.  Gerard 
Buckland,  for  instance,  a  clever  young  barrister  who 
was  tired  of  hearing  of  the  great  things  he  was  to  do 
some  day,  since  he  was  unable  to  get  even  small 
things  to  do  to  go  on  with,  found  at  the  Aldingtons 
something  that  he  had  stoutly  resolved  to  do  without 
until  he  had  "  got  on." 

He  found,  in  other  words,  his  "  ideal." 

It  was  on  a  bright  Sunday  afternoon,  when  the 
big  drawing-room  was  full  of  lively  people,  mostly 
young,  and  all  talking  at  once,  that  Gerard,  having 
been  introduced  by  Arthur  Aldington  two  Sundays 
previously,  took  advantage  for  the  third  time  of  the 
general  invitation  given  him  by  the  host  and  hostess, 
and  found  himself  surrounded  by  a  dozen  people 
among  whom  he  knew  no  one  except  the  Aldingtons 
themselves. 

Whereupon  Rose,  the  daughter  of  the  house,  made 
him  sit  by  her,  and,  as  he  was  shyly  looking  over  a 
basketful  of  loose  photographs  which  he  had  found 


MISS  D  AVI  SON  3 

on  a  table  beside  him,  undertook  the  task  of  showman, 
and  told  him  all  about  the  pictures  as  he  looked  at 
them  one  by  one. 

It  chanced  that  the  second  picture  he  picked 
up  after  Rose's  arrival  was  the  portrait  of  a  girl 
which  attracted  him  at  once. 

"  What  an  interesting  face ! "  said  he,  as  he  looked 
at  the  photograph. 

"  And  she's  an  interesting  girl  too ! "  said  Rose, 
who  was  a  plain,  amiable  young  woman  of  six-and- 
twenty,  whom  everybody  liked  and  nobody  had  as  yet 
chosen.  "  She's  the  daughter  of  a  Colonel,  who 
speculated,  and  then  died  and  left  his  wife  and  two 
girls  with  scarcely  anything  to  live  upon.  Papa 
says  it's  one  of  the  saddest  stories  he  knows.  They've 
gone  to  live  in  a  cottage  somewhere,  after  living  in 
one  of  the  most  beautiful  houses  you  ever  saw  in  the 
country,  and  having  a  flat  in  town  as  well." 

Gerard  Buckland  was  looking  intently  at  the  pho- 
tograph, which  was  that  of  a  quite  young  woman 
with  an  oval  face,  delicate  features,  and  an  expres- 
sion which  combined  vivacity  with  intelligence. 

"  She  looks  very  clever,"  he  said. 

"  Yes,  so  she  is  —  and  very  pretty  too." 

"  Yes,  very,  very  pretty." 

He  was  fascinated;  and  when  he  was  compelled  to 
look  at  other  photographs,  he  placed  that  of  the  girl 
whose  story  he  had  just  heard  at  the  side  of  the  bas- 
ket, in  such  a  position  that  he  could  glance  at  it 


4  THE  DAZZLING 

again  from  time  to  time,  and  amuse  himself  by  spec- 
ulating about  this  girl  who  was  so  handsome,  so  clever, 
and  so  unlucky. 

Rose  Aldington  noticed  his  preoccupation  with  the 
picture,  and  said,  with  a  smile  — 

"  I  see  you  admire  her,  just  as  everyone  else 
does." 

"  I  was  thinking  the  story  a  sad  one,"  said  Gerard, 
rather  confused  at  being  discovered  in  his  act  of 
adoration. 

"  Oh,  well,  perhaps  she'll  marry  well,  and  her  sis- 
ter too,  and  then  it  will  be  all  right.  The  sister  is 
even  better-looking  than  Ra — than  she  is,  and  just 
as  nice.  Only  unluckily  she  hadn't  finished  growing 
up  when  their  father  died,  so  she  hasn't  had  the  bene- 
fit of  such  a  good  education  as  the  elder." 

"  It's  hard  upon  a  girl,  though,  when  she  has  to 
marry  just  for  money,"  observed  Gerard. 

"  Oh,  yes,  of  course.  And  I'm  not  sure  that  this 
particular  girl  would  do  it  either.  But  that's  the 
usual  thing  to  say,  isn't  it,  when  a  very  pretty  girl 
is  left  unexpectedly  poor?  " 

"  Yes." 

Gerard  answered  quite  shortly,  and  looked  at  the 
photograph  again.  And  at  that  moment  the  door 
opened,  and  an  exclamation  rose  to  his  lips  as  he  rec- 
ognized in  the  new  arrival  the  very  girl  whose  pic- 
ture he  held  in  his  hand. 

He  felt  the  blood  rush  to  his  face  as  he  looked  at 


MISS  DAV1SON  5 

her.  He  saw  at  once  that  the  absence  of  color  from 
the  photograph  had  given  him  an  altogether  wrong 
impression  of  what  the  girl  herself  would  be  like. 
She  was  of  medium  height,  slender,  pale,  brown- 
haired,  brown-eyed,  and  her  dress  was  plain  almost  to 
dowdiness. 

But  she  carried  herself  so  well,  her  figure  was  so 
graceful,  her  expression  so  intelligent,  and  her  smile 
so  charming,  that  she  attracted  instinctive  attention 
in  greater  measure  than  any  of  the  other  girls  in  the 
room. 

"  Rachel !  "  cried  Mrs.  Aldington. 

"  Miss  Davison  1 "  cried  her  son  Arthur  at  the  same 
moment. 

And  the  new-comer  was  brought  into  the  group 
near  the  fire  and  surrounded,  while  Gerard  Buck- 
land,  at  a  little  distance,  listened  to  the  tones  of  her 
voice,  and  approved  of  them  as  he  had  done  of  every 
detail  concerning  her. 

Only  one  thing  about  her  seemed  amiss.  Well 
as  she  wore  her  plain,  almost  shabby  clothes,  neat 
and  graceful  as  she  looked  in  them,  Gerard  felt  that 
they  were  not  the  clothes  which  she  ought  to  be  wear- 
ing, that  her  beauty  demanded  a  better  setting  than 
the  plain  serge  skirt,  the  black  jacket,  the  gray  felt 
mushroom  hat  with  its  trimming  of  a  quill  and  a  big 
black  rosette,  which,  though  they  became  her,  were 
not  quite  smart  enough  either  for  the  occasion  or 
for  her  own  type  of  womanhood. 


6  THE  DAZZLING 

Gerard  saw  the  glance  of  Rose  Aldington  wander 
in  his  direction  with  a  sly  look,  and  he  hoped  she 
would  not  forget  to  find  an  opportunity  to  introduce 
him  to  the  interesting  guest. 

He  was  not  disappointed.  Before  tea  was  brought 
in,  Rose  had  contrived  the  introduction,  and  Gerard 
found  himself  in  conversation  with  the  girl  whom  he 
felt  to  be  the  nearest  he  had  yet  met  to  the  sort  of 
floating  ideal  of  what  is  most  gracious  in  woman, 
which  he,  in  common  with  most  young  men,  carried 
about  in  his  mind,  ready  to  crystallize  into  the 
face  and  form  of  some  human,  breathing,  living 
girl. 

As  she  interested  him,  so  did  he,  perhaps,  interest 
her.  The  tall,  shy,  handsome  fair  man  of  five-and- 
twenty,  who  spoke  so  softly,  but  who  looked  as  if  his 
voice  could  be  heard  in  other  and  stronger  tones  upon 
occasion,  and  of  whom  it  had  been  whispered  in  her 
ear  by  Rose  that  he  was  "  so  clever,  bound  to  make  a 
name  for  himself  at  the  bar,"  was  pleasant  to  look 
upon  and  to  listen  to,  and  the  two  young  people,  in 
that  pleasant  twilight  which  Mrs.  Aldington  loved, 
and  which  she  would  not  too  soon  have  broken  in 
upon  by  gas  and  candles,  soon  began  to  find  that 
they  had  many  things  to  say  to  each  other,  as  they 
sipped  tea  and  nibbled  cake,  to  the  accompaniment  of 
the  other  gay  young  voices,  in  the  illumination  of  the 
leaping  firelight. 

Somebody  had  drawn  the  talk  of  the  whole  room 


MISS  D  AVI  SON  7 

into  the  old  channel  of  woman's  rights  and  position, 
and  immediately  the  whole  company  had  broken  up 
into  interested  little  couples  and  groups  to  discuss  it 
with  the  same  freshness  of  interest  as  if  it  had  never 
been  discussed  before. 

Rachel  Davison  was  rather  bitter  about  it. 

"  It's  all  very  well  to  talk,"  she  said,  "  about  the 
right  of  woman  to  act  for  herself,  and  to  make  a 
position  for  herself,  and  the  rest  of  it.  But  you 
want  more  than  the  right:  you  must  have  the  power. 
And  that  is  what  we  shall  never  get,"  she  added,  with 
a  sigh. 

Gerard  argued  with  her. 

"  Why  shouldn't  they  have  the  power?  "  he  said. 
"  When  once  the  barriers  of  prejudice  are  pulled 
down,  what's  to  prevent  a  woman  from  entering  any 
field  where  she  feels  her  talents  will  be  best  em- 
ployed? " 

She  raised  her  eyebrows. 

"  When  once  the  barriers  of  prejudice  are  broken 
down ! "  echoed  she.  "  But  that  will  be  never.  You 
don't  recognize  how  strong  they  are!  Why,  look 
at  my  mother,  for  instance;  she's  more  particular 
about  little  things,  prejudices  and  that  sort  of  thing, 
than  about  important  ones.  And  she's  not  alone, 
she's  one  of  a  type,  the  most  common  type.  She 
would  rather  see  her  daughters  dead,  I'm  quite  sure, 
than  engaged  in  any  occupation  which  she's  been  ac- 
customed to  think  unwomanly." 


8  THE  DAZZLING 

"  But  she  belongs  to  the  last  generation.  We  go 
on  enlarging  our  ideas.  You,  for  instance,  don't 
agree  with  her,  I  can  see." 

"  Not  in  everything,  certainly ;  though  I  agree 
with  her  enough  to  sympathize  with  her,  and  to  wish 
that  the  world  were  just  as  she  sees  it,  with  plenty  of 
work  for  all,  and  work  of  the  pleasantest  kind  — 
work  that  one  could  engage  in  without  loss  of  dig- 
nity, and  with  credit  to  oneself." 

"  There's  plenty  of  such  work  to  be  found  now. 
What  about  the  dignity  of  labor?  " 

"  All  very  well  in  theory,  but  quite  a  mistake  in 
practice.  At  any  rate,  there's  nothing  dignified 
about  any  calling  which  I,  for  example,  could  find  to 
follow.  Now  poor  mamma  thinks  it's  all  right,  that 
one  has  only  to  look  about  to  find  ways  of  utilizing 
what  she  calls  one's  talents,  and  to  make  heaps  of 
money  by  them." 

"  Perhaps  she's  right  after  all.  I'm  sure  you 
wouldn't  be  long  in  finding  an  opening  >f  or  yours,  if 
you  wanted  one." 

"  What  makes  you  say  that  ?  At  least  I  know. 
Of  course,  it's  the  sort  of  thing  a  man  must  say  to  a 
woman.  But,  as  a  matter  of  stern  fact,  I  haven't 
any  talents,  and  for  a  woman  without  to  look  for  re- 
munerative and  dignified  labor  is  just  the  most  ap- 
palling waste  of  time  imaginable." 

"  I'm  quite  sure  you  have  talents,  only  perhaps 
you  don't  recognize  them  yourself  yet." 


MISS  DAV1SON  9 

"  What  makes  you  speak  so  certainly,  when  I  tell 
you  I  have  not?  " 

Gerard  hesitated. 

"  I'm  not  quite  sure  whether  I  dare  tell  why.  The 
thing  I  should  have  to  say,  if  I  were  to  tell  the  truth, 
is  the  sort  of  thing  some  ladies  as  young  as  you  don't 
care  to  hear." 

He  looked  at  her  with  shy  interest,  and  she,  alert 
and  inquisitive,  insisted  upon  his  explaining. 

"  Whether  I  like  to  hear  it  or  not,  I  must  know 
what  you  mean,"  she  said,  with  charming  imperious- 
ness. 

"  Well,  then,  Miss  Davison,  you  look  —  may  I  say 
it?— 'brainy.'" 

She  nodded,  smiling. 

"  I've  been  told  that  before,  but  the  look  is  de- 
ceptive. I'm  only  just  not  quite  an  idiot.  I  can't 
do  anything  —  except  one  thing  that  I  don't  think 
I'll  own  to,"  she  added,  with  a  laugh. 

"  Let  me  put  you  through  a  short  catechism. 
Can't  you  play  ?  —  the  piano,  I  mean." 

"  Not  even  well  enough  to  get  through  the  ac- 
companiment of  a  song  at  sight,  or  to  play  an  easy 
piece  that  I  haven't  diligently  practiced  till  the  fam- 
ily is  tired  to  death  of  it." 

"Can't  you  paint?" 

"  Oh,  yes,  I  can  copy  drawing-master's  pictures, 
which  are  like  nothing  in  heaven  or  earth  or  the  water 
under  the  earth." 


10  THE  DAZZLING 

"  You  can  sing,  I  feel  sure." 

"  Yes,  I  can,  but  you  have  to  sit  very  near  the 
piano  to  hear  me." 

"  Then  you  have  some  other  accomplishments 
which  you  have  concealed  from  me,"  said  Gerard, 
affecting  a  judicial  frown. 

Miss  Davison  laughed  merrily. 

"  Well,  I  have  one,  but  wild  horses  shan't  drag 
from  me  what  it  is.  And,  if  you  knew,  you  would 
not  advise  me  to  use  it." 

"  Come,  come,  I  must  have  complete  confession. 
No  half-way  measures.  Let  me  see  if  I  can't  sug- 
gest a  way  of  utilizing  this  mysterious  accomplish- 
ment." 

She  laughed,  blushed  crimson,  and  suddenly  open- 
ing her  hand,  showed  him,  lying  flat  on  the  palm, 
a  little  silver  pencil-case,  at  sight  of  which  he  uttered 
an  exclamation. 

"Why,  that's  mine,  isn't  it?"  said  he.  "How 
did  you  — " 

He  stopped,  she  laughed,  and  Rose  Aldington, 
who  was  sitting  near,  joined  in  her  mirth,  which  was 
of  rather  a  shamefaced  kind. 

"  Showing  off  again,  Rachel?  "  she  said. 

Miss  Davison  laughed,  gave  the  pencil  case  back 
to  Gerard,  and  said,  with  a  demure  look  — 

"  There !  that's  my  best  accomplishment.  I  flatter 
myself  I  can  pick  pockets  with  any  amateur  living. 


MISS  DAVISON  11 

Now  you  wouldn't  recommend  me  to  take  to  that  as  a 
livelihood,  would  you?  " 

He  was  amused,  almost  dismayed,  but  protested 
earnestly  that  there  must  be  a  hundred  ways  in  which 
such  exceeding  dexterity  could  be  profitably  exercised 
without  having  recourse  to  the  profession  she  sug- 
gested. 

But,  in  the  meantime,  Rose  Aldington  having 
drawn  the  attention  of  the  rest  of  the  people  in  the 
room  to-  Rachel's  accomplishment,  she  was  called 
upon  to  give  another  exhibition  of  her  skill,  and  this 
she  did  in  various  ways,  transferring  trifles  from  the 
mantelpiece  to  the  table  and  back  again  so  quickly 
and  cleverly  that  the  eye  could  not  follow  her  move- 
ments, and  performing  other  little  feats  requiring  ex- 
treme delicacy  of  touch  and  quickness  of  eye,  until 
they  all  told  her  she  would  make  her  fortune  if  she 
were  to  set  up  as  a  conjurer. 

Gerard,  however,  was  more  deeply  interested  than 
the  rest.  He  learned  from  her  that  she  performed 
these  various  tricks  without  ever  having  been  taught 
conjuring,  and  he  argued  from  this  that,  if  she  were 
only  to  train  her  special  faculties  in  some  given  di- 
rection, she  could  not  fail  to  become  exceedingly  ex- 
pert. 

"  I  should  have  thought,"  he  said,  "  that  you 
would  make  a  very  clever  milliner,  with  your  wonder- 
fully light  touch." 


12  THE  DAZZLING 

Miss  Davison  sighed. 

"  I  believe  I  should,"  she  said ;  "  but  my  mother 
won't  hear  of  it.  Prejudice  again!  And  I  daresay 
that  the  talent  which  seems  extraordinary  when  it  is 
untrained,  would  turn  out  quite  commonplace  if  I 
were  to  be  pitted,  at  any  calling  such  as  millinery, 
against  those  who  have  for  years  been  brought  up  to 
it." 

"I  don't  think  so,"  said  Gerard.  "Indeed,  I'm 
sure  you  do  yourself  an  injustice.  Your  lightness 
of  hand  and  quickness  of  eye  are  quite  remarkable. 
And  the  wonderful  way  in  which  you  move,  so  that 
you  get  from  one  place  to  another  without  being  seen 
on  the  way,  if  I  may  so  express  it,  reminds  one  rather 
of  a  bird  than  of  the  average  solid,  stolid  thing  we 
call  a  human  being." 

Miss  Davison  was  amused,  rather  pleased,  by  his 
evident  enthusiasm,  and  when  he  modestly  and  stam- 
meringly  expressed  a  hope  that  she  would  let  him 
know  if  she  decided  to  make  any  practical  use  of  her 
talents,  she  told  him  that  when  she  and  her  mother 
came  to  town,  she  would  ask  him  to  go  and  see  them. 

"  At  present,"  she  added,  "  we  are  living  quite  in 
the  country,  and  we  can't  receive  any  visitors  because 
my  mother  is  not  well  enough." 

"  And  how  shall  I  know  —  through  the  Aldingtons 
—  when  you  come  to  town?"  asked  Gerard  eagerly. 

"  Oh,  yes ;  they  will  know  before  anyone.  Mrs. 
Aldington  is  such  a  dear,  and  so  is  her  husband ;  and 


MISS  DAY  I  SON  13 

so,  for  that  matter,  are  Arthur  and  Rose.  Yes, 
whenever  we  come  up,  and  wherever  we  settle,  they 
will  know  our  address  at  once." 

When  Miss  Davison  rose  to  go,  Gerard  Buckland 
was  not  long  in  following  her.  He  came  up  with 
her  before  she  reached  the  corner  of  the  street,  and 
begged  to  be  allowed  to  see  her  to  the  station. 

But  she  refused,  saying  quite  gently  that  she  must 
get  used  to  going  about  alone,  and  that  it  was  the 
first  step  towards  women's  rights. 

He  looked  pained. 

"  I  should  have  been  so  very  grateful  to  you  if 
you  had  let  me  call  upon  you !  "  he  said  humbly,  wist- 
fully. 

Her  face  grew  grave. 

"  No,"  she  said ;  "  I  can't  do  that.  The  plain  truth 
is  that  my  mother  has  not  yet  got  over  a  terrible  change 
in  circumstances  which  we've  suffered  not  long  ago, 
and  she  can't  bear  that  anyone  should  see  us  in 
what  is  practically  a  workman's  cottage.  Prejudice 
again,  of  course,  but  it  has  to  be  considered." 

"  May  I  hope  for  the  pleasure  of  meeting  you 
again  at  the  Aldingtons  ?  " 

"  Oh,  yes,  I'm  often  there.  I  shall  be  very  pleased 
to  see  you  again  when  I  go  there." 

She  gave  him  her  hand  and  he  was  obliged  to  bid 
her  good-bye  and  leave  her. 

But  the  impression  she  had  made  upon  him  was  so 
strong,  deepened,  no  doubt,  by  the  circumstances  in 


14  THE  DAZZLING 

which  she  was  placed,  and  also,  perhaps,  by  her  reso- 
lute attitude  which  was  neither  coquetry  nor  prudery, 
but  simply  pride,  that  he  could  scarcely  think  of 
anything  for  the  next  few  days  but  the  pale  oval  face 
and  the  big  brown  eyes,  alternately  gay  and  grave, 
and  the  soft  voice  that  was  different  from  the  voices 
of  other  girls. 

He  went  to  the  Aldingtons  assiduously  after  that, 
always  hoping  to  meet  Miss  Davison  again.  But 
each  time  he  was  disappointed,  and  at  last  he  grew 
ashamed  of  calling  so  often,  and  of  being  so  dull 
when  he  was  there,  and  absented  himself  for  a  couple 
of  months  from  the  old-fashioned  Bayswater  house 
and  its  gay  circle. 

Then  he  called  again,  but  only  to  hear  that  noth- 
ing had  been  seen  or  heard  of  the  Davisons  for  some 
time.  At  last,  six  months  after  his  meeting  with  Ra- 
chel, and  while  the  remembrance  of  her  face,  her 
voice,  and  her  quietly  outspoken  opinions  was  still 
fresh  upon  him,  Gerard  met  Arthur  Aldington  one 
day  in  the  Strand  and  was  at  once  reproached  for 
neglecting  them. 

Gerard  made  excuses,  and  asked  after  Miss  Davi- 
son. 

Arthur's  face  changed. 

"  I  don't  know  what's  happened  to  them,"  said  he, 
with  a  perplexed  look.  "  I  haven't  seen  anything  of 
any  of  them  till  a  day  or  two  ago.  And  then " 


MISS  D  AVI  SON  15 

.  .  .  He  checked  himself,  and  said,  "  You  were 
quite  gone  on  Rachel,  weren't  you  ?  " 

"  I  admired  her  immensely,"  said  Gerard.  "  I 
wanted  to  see  her  again,  but  she  wouldn't  let  me  call ; 
said  her  mother  didn't  like  receiving  people  in  a  cot- 
tage, after  the  sort  of  life  she'd  been  used  to." 

Arthur  smiled. 

"  Oh,  that  was  all  rot,"  said  he  simply.  "  Mrs. 
Davison  is  the  most  fluffy,  gentle  old  lady  in  the 
world.  It  was  Rachel  who  was  ashamed  of  their  sim- 
ple way  of  living,  always  Rachel.  She  twists  her 
mother  and  sister  round  her  little  finger,  and  she 
could  have  had  the  entire  population  of  London  to 
call  if  she'd  chosen." 

Gerard  looked  hurt. 

"She's  an  odd  girl,"  went  on  Arthur.  "The 
other  day  I  met  her  for  the  first  time  for  months  at 
the  Stores.  I  went  there  to  get  some  things  for 
mother,  and  I  ran  against  Rachel.  She  was  beauti- 
fully dressed,  looked  awfully  smart,  and  seemed 
quite  confused  at  meeting  me.  She  didn't  answer 
when  I  asked  her  where  she  was  living,  but  said  her 
mother  was  at  Brighton  and  her  sister  at  school  in 
Richmond.  And  I  asked  her  why  she  hadn't  been 
to  see  us,  and  she  said  she  had  meant  to  come,  but 
had  been  busy.  And  she  promised  to  come  last  Sun- 
day, but  she  didn't." 

**  Is  she  living  in  town  ?  " 


16  THE  DAZZLING  MISS  DAVISON 

"  I  don't  know ;  but  she's  doing  well,  anyhow. 
She  looked  remarkably  prosperous.  She  puzzled  me 
altogether." 

Gerard,  whose  interest  in  Rachel  Davison  had 
been  revived  and  strengthened  by  this  meeting,  and 
these  details  concerning  the  girl  who  had  roused 
his  keen  admiration,  called  next  Sunday  at  the  Ald- 
ingtons, but  only  to  be  disappointed  and  still  further 
puzzled  by  the  accounts  he  received  of  Rachel  Da- 
vison. 

For  Rose  had  met  her,  shopping  at  Marshall  and 
Snelgrove's,  and  Rachel,  who  was  exquisitely  dressed 
and  accompanied  by  a  well-dressed  but  undistin- 
guished-looking man  had  cut  her  dead. 

"  She's  married,  I  suppose,  and  to  some  sweep 
whom  she  doesn't  want  to  introduce  to  us,"  suggested 
Arthur. 

And  Gerard's  spirits  ran  down  to  zero  at  the 
thought. 


IT  was  two  months  later  than  this  meeting,  and 
nearly  eight  months  after  his  first  meeting  with  Ra- 
chel Davison,  when  Gerard  Buckland,  as  he  was  "  do- 
ing "  the  Academy  with  a  listless  air  on  a  hot  after- 
noon in  June,  came  suddenly  upon  a  sight  which  at 
once  changed  his  listlessness  into  excitement  of  the 
most  violent  kind. 

In  front  of  him,  with  half  a  dozen  Provincial  and 
suburban  loungers  in  between,  were  two  girls,  both 
beautifully  dressed,  of  whom  Gerard  at  once  recog- 
nized the  elder  to  be  Rachel  Davison. 

The  transformation,  however,  from  the  plainly 
dressed  and  dowdy  girl  he  had  met  a  few  months  ago 
at  the  Aldingtons,  to  the  woman  in  a  trained  dress 
of  ecru  lace,  with  a  big  brown  hat  trimmed  with  long 
ostrich  plumes  shading  from  palest  pink  to  deepest 
crimson,  was  so  amazing,  so  complete,  that  he  for  a 
moment  doubted  whether  he  had  made  a  mistake. 

For  the  change  was  not  in  dress  only.  The  beauty 
of  the  brilliant  Rachel  was  of  that  type  which  is 
greatly  enhanced  by  handsome  dress,  and  she  ap- 
peared ten  times  more  beautiful  now  than  she  had 
done  in  the  shabby  clothes  of  the  year  before. 

17 


18  THE  DAZZLING 

The  other  girl  Gerard  guessed  to  be  her  sister,  and 
a  more  charming  contrast  it  would  have  been  impos- 
sible to  find  than  that  of  the  pale  dark  beauty  and  the 
pink-and-white  fair  one  beside  her. 

The  younger  girl  was  dressed  in  an  ankle-length 
skirt  of  black  lace,  a  blouse  to  match  with  elbow 
sleeves,  and  long  black  kid  gloves  to  meet  them. 
Her  large  mushroom  hat  was  black  also,  and  the  only 
relief  to  the  somber  hue  besides  her  golden  hair  and 
brilliant  blonde  coloring,  consisted  in  a  bunch  of 
sweet  peas  which  was  tucked  into  her  dress. 

The  good  looks  and  smart  appearance  of  the  two 
girls  attracted  the  attention  of  the  crowd  in  the 
rooms  to  such  a  degree  that  wherever  they  went  the 
people  followed  them,  and  Gerard  had  difficulty  in 
forcing  his  way  through  the  admiring  mob  to  Ra- 
chel's side. 

The  sight  of  her  had  confused  his  thoughts,  made 
his  heart  beat  fast,  and  revived,  with  extra  vividness, 
the  intense  interest  he  had  from  the  first  felt  in  the 
girl. 

With  some  diffidence  he  greeted  her,  and  was  re- 
lieved to  find  that  she  did  not  "  cut "  him,  but  hold- 
ing out  her  hand  with  a  smile,  while  a  little  tinge  of 
pink  color  appeared  in  her  cheeks,  greeted  him  by 
name,  thus  showing  that  she  had  not,  as  he  had 
feared,  quite  forgotten  him. 

"  I've  been  most  anxious  for  the  pleasure  of  meet- 
ing you  again,  and  I've  asked  the  Aldingtons  about 


MISS  DAVISON  19 

you,  but  you  haven't  been  to  see  them  lately,  they 
said,"  he  stammered,  although  he  felt  as  he  spoke 
that  it  was  rather  a  stupid  thing  to  say. 

She  blushed  a  little  more. 

"  I  really  haven't  much  time  for  visiting  now,"  she 
said.  "  Let  me  introduce  you  to  my  sister  Lilian, 
Mr.  Buckland.  She's  at  school  at  Richmond,  but 
I've  brought  her  out  for  a  day's  holiday." 

"  You  are  living  in  town  now  ?  "  he  asked. 

"  Yes,  I  am  staying  with  some  friends.  My 
mother  is  living  down  at  Brighton,  and  I  divide  my 
time  between  them,"  said  Miss  Davison. 

Gerard  hesitated.  He  wanted  more  than  ever  to 
know  all  about  her,  to  be  able  to  meet  her  at  her 
home,  to  renew  the  acquaintance  which  had  delighted 
and  impressed  him  so  much.  But  her  words  seemed 
to  imply  quite  clearly  that  she  had  no  such  wish  on 
her  side. 

"I  —  I  had  heard  —  the  Aldingtons  thought  " 
he  stammered  at  last  — "  that  you  were  married." 

She  smiled. 

"  I'm  not  a  marrying  girl,"  she  said. 

There  was  a  pause  and  then  he  grew  bold. 

"  You've  taken  my  advice  and  found  an  .opening 
for  your  talents,"  said  he. 

Miss  Davison  looked  alarmed. 

"  What  do  you  mean  ?  "  she  said  quickly. 

It  was  an  awkward  question  to  answer.  He  could 
not  tell  her  that  whereas  she  had  been  shabby  and 


20  THE  DAZZLING 

ashamed  of  being  seen  in  her  mother's  modest  home  a 
few  months  ago,  now  she  was  resplendent  in  expen- 
sive clothes,  and  evidently  as  far  removed  as  possible 
from  the  pinch  of  poverty. 

"  I  mean,"  he  said  diplomatically,  "  that  from 
what  I  saw  of  you  I  am  sure  you  would  not  have 
failed  to  find  some  opening  for  your  energies,  and  " 
he  dared  to  add,  with  a  sly  glance  of  admiration,  "  to 
judge  by  what  I  see,  you  have  succeeded." 

The  blush  faded  from  Miss  Davison's  face  and 
gave  place  to  a  demure  and  flickering  smile. 

"We  have  had  a  little  luck  at  last,"  she  said. 
"  That's  all.  It's  nothing  to  do  with  me." 

At  that  moment  an  elderly  lady  of  distinguished 
appearance,  who  appeared  to  be  acting  as  chaperon 
to  the  two  girls,  came  up  to  them  from  the  seat  in 
the  middle  of  the  room,  where  she  had  been  doing  her 
inspection  of  the  pictures  —  and  the  people  —  with- 
out fatigue.  Miss  Davison  had  to  turn  to  talk  to 
her,  but  she  did  not  introduce  him.  So  he  fell  back 
upon  the  younger  sister,  who  was  full  of  excitement 
and  happiness  over  her  holiday. 

"  Don't  you  find  looking  at  pictures  tiring  ? " 
asked  he,  for  want  of  something  better  to  say. 

"  Oh,  no.  You  see  this  is  a  great  treat  for  me, 
to  come  out  with  Rachel;  so  nothing  bores  me,  as  it 
might  anyone  who  could  do  this  sort  of  thing  when- 
ever he  liked." 


MISS  D  AVI  SON  21 

"  You  are  very  fond  of  your  sister,  I  can  see." 

The  girl's  face  beamed  with  affection  as  she 
answered  — 

"  I  adore  Rachel.  She's  so  wonderfully  clever 
and  energetic,  and  good  to  us.  Do  you  know  that 
she  has  changed  everything  for  mamma  and  me,  by 
her  cleverness  and  her  hard  work  ?  " 

"  I'm  not  at  all  surprised,"  said  Gerard  heartily. 
"  I  told  her  when  I  met  her  first  that  I  was  sure  she 
would  find  some  opening  for  her  talents.  She  said 
she  had  none,  but  I  knew  better." 

"  No  talents !  Yes,  isn't  it  absurd  ?  That's  what 
she  always  says,"  cried  Lilian  merrily.  "  A  girl  who 
can  make  eight  hundred  a  year,  without  any*  previous 
teaching  or  training,  simply  by  drawing  designs." 

"  Indeed ! "  said  Gerard,  admiring  but  almost  in- 
credulous at  the  simplicity  of  the  means. 

"  Yes,"  pursued  Lilian  confidently.  "  Of  course 
she  has  to  work  very  hard,  and  she  has  to  go  about 
just  where  the  firm  that  employs  her  wants  her  to  go. 
But  she  says  she  likes  it,  and  certainly  they  treat  her 
very  well." 

Gerard  was  puzzled.  That  any  firm  should  pay  a 
designer  eight  hundred  a  year,  and  want  her  to  travel 
about  for  them  seemed  strange,  he  thought.  He  had 
had  a  vague  idea  that  a  designer  must  go  through 
a  thorough  course  of  training  before  his  talents  were 
of  much  practical  value ;  and  to  learn  that  a  girl  who 


22  THE  DAZZLING 

had  had  no  experience  of  such  work  could,  within  a 
few  months,  make  such  a  large  income  was  a  surprise 
to  him. 

"  She  must  have  to  work  very  hard,"  he  said. 

"  Yes,  but  she  finds  time  to  go  about  and  enjoy 
herself  too.  That  is  the  wonderful  part  of  it,  and 
nobody  could  do  it  but  Rachel,"  babbled  on  the 
pretty  childlike  seventeen-year-old  sister  proudly. 
"  Old  Lady  Jennings,  whom  she  stays  with,  says  she 
never  sees  her  with  a  pencil  in  her  hand  when  she's 
at  home.  But  she  has  a  little  studio  somewhere  off 
Regent  Street  —  only  she  won't  tell  us  where,  for 
fear  we  should  go  and  disturb  her  at  her  work," 
added  the  girl  ingenuously,  "  and  when  she  has  any- 
thing important  to  do,  she  just  shuts  herself  up  there, 
and  works  away  for  hours.  I  do  wish  I  were  clever 
like  that ! "  she  added  wistfully. 

"  I've  no  doubt  you're  clever  too,  in  some  other 
way,"  almost  stammered  Gerard,  puzzled  and  con- 
fused by  the  strange  account  the  simple-hearted 
schoolgirl  had  given  him. 

He  was  conscious,  even  as  he  talked  to  the  pretty 
child,  that  her  sister  was  watching  them  with  anxiety. 
Was  Rachel  anxious  that  Lilian  should  not  be  so 
frank  ? 

Old  Lady  Jennings,  the  distinguished-looking 
chaperon,  seemed  to  be  anxious  to  have  him  in- 
troduced to  her.  But  Rachel  prevented  this,  and 
contrived,  without  any  apparance  of  incivility,  to  dis~ 


MISS  DAVISON  23 

miss  Gerard  within  a  few  moments  of  the  conversa- 
tion he  had  had  with  her  sister. 

He  was  disturbed,  ruffled,  rendered  uneasy,  and 
vaguely  suspicious  of  he  knew  not  what.  But  the 
impression  made  upon  him  by  Miss  Davison  the  elder, 
was  stronger  than  ever,  and  he  felt  that  he  could  not 
rest  until  he  had  found  out  more  about  her,  and 
fathomed  the  mystery  which  appeared  to  surround 
her. 

The  more  he  thought  about  it,  the  more  certain  he 
felt  that  the  younger  sister  must  be  under  a  misap- 
prehension with  regard  to  the  income  earned  by  her 
sister.  Either  it  was  much  smaller  than  she  sup- 
posed, and  Rachel  pretended  that  it  was  large,  in  or- 
der that  the  younger  might  not  feel  that  she  was  a 
burden,  or  else  Rachel  had  some  other  employment, 
more  remunerative,  to  eke  out  her  income. 

Was  she  on  the  stage?  Though  Gerard  knew  lit- 
tle about  the  theatrical  profession  except  from  the 
outside,  he  was  vaguely  sure  that  incomes  of  eight 
hundred  a  year  cannot  be  made  there  except  by  ac- 
tors and  actresses  who  have  some  training  or  ex- 
perience, or  who  have  made  such  a  mark  for  some 
special  reason  or  other,  that  their  names  must  be 
known  to  everybody. 

That  the  girl  in  whom  he  felt  such  a  strong  in- 
terest would  not  stoop  to  anything  unworthy  he  felt 
sure.  But  that  he  remembered,  with  an  uneasiness 
which  he  could  not  stay,  that  singular  treatment  of 


24  THE  DAZZLING 

her  friends  the  Aldingtons,  for  whom  she  had  pro- 
fessed so  much  affection,  and  yet  whom  she  did  not 
scruple  to  neglect  and  even  to  "  cut,"  without  any 
apparent  reason. 

And  why  would  she  not  let  him  be  introduced  to 
old  Lady  Jennings,  when  the  lady  herself  had  evi- 
dently been  willing,  if  not  anxious,  to  know  him? 
Why  did  such  a  young  woman  choose  to  wrap  her 
doings  and  her  whereabouts  in  a  ridiculous  mystery, 
which  could  not  but  be  prejudicial  both  to  herself 
and  her  young  sister? 

The  whole  thing  was  puzzling,  irritating,  and 
Gerard  could  think  of  nothing  else. 

He  would  have  liked  to  think  of  Rachel  Davison  as 
he  had  seen  her  first,  and  to  honor  her  for  her  valiant 
efforts  to  restore  to  her  mother  and  sister  the  luxu- 
rious atmosphere  of  their  old  home,  all  by  her  own 
hard  work. 

Now,  try  as  he  would  to  dispel  all  doubts  from  his 
mind,  he  could  not  but  feel  that  there  was  a  mystery 
about  her  which  was  disquieting.  It  was  true  that 
this  Lady  Jennings,  with  whom  she  was  staying,  was 
a  woman  with  a  high  and  even  conspicuous  position 
in  the  world.  Not  very  rich,  she  was  a  great  con- 
noisseur and  a  much  sought  after  hostess,  and  no 
girls  on  the  threshold  of  life  could  have  a  better,  a 
shrewder,  or  a  more  trustworthy  friend. 

But,  on  the  other  hand,  Rachel  had  not  been  can- 
did or  truthful  in  her  statements  to  him :  was  it  pos- 


MISS  DAY  I  SON  25 

sible  that  she  was  equally  lacking  in  candor  to  others  ? 

She  had  told  him  that  her  prosperity  was  due  to 
"  luck,"  and  had  expressly  stated  that  it  had  "  noth- 
ing to  do  with  her." 

Now  her  sister  had  said  frankly  that  this  "  luck  " 
was  due  to  her  sister's  talents  and  hard  work. 

What  did  this  discrepancy  mean? 

Gerard  worried  himself  unceasingly  about  this, 
for  he  could  not  get  the  brilliant  and  beautiful  Miss 
Davison  out  of  his  head.  Lilian  had  said  that  her 
sister  had  a  little  studio  somewhere  near  Regent 
Street,  where  she  occupied  herself  with  these  wonder- 
ful designs  which  brought  her  in  so  handsome  an  in- 
come. 

Mrs.  Davison,  she  had  said,  lived  at  Brighton,  and 
Rachel  divided  her  time  between  her  mother  and 
Lady  Jennings,  whose  address  Gerard  immediately 
set  himself  to  discover. 

It  was  near  Sloane  Street,  a  small  house,  the  posi- 
tion of  which  suggested  a  rental  quite  out  of  propor- 
tion to  its  small  size. 

Gerard  took  a  walk  in  that  direction,  and  looked 
wistfully  at  the  door  at  which  he  dared  not  knock. 
He  felt  himself  to  be  growing  even  dangerously 
sentimental  about  this  girl,  and  told  himself  he  was 
a  fool  to  think  of  a  woman  who  certainly  harbored 
no  thought  of  him. 

And  yet  —  there  was  the  rub !  —  it  had  seemed  to 
him,  that  afternoon  at  the  Academy,  that  Rachel 


26  THE  DAZZLING  MISS  DAVISON 

looked  at  him  with  a  certain  expression  which  sug- 
gested that,  so  far  from  having  forgotten  him,  she 
retained  almost  as  vivid  a  remembrance  of  him  as  he 
did  of  her.  This  was  not  a  fancy,  it  was  a  fact,  and 
it  completed  his  subjugation  to  the  tyranny  of  his 
ideal. 

He  began  to  haunt  the  West  End,  hovering  be- 
tween Sloane  Street  and  Regent  Street  until  one 
evening,  when  there  was  a  grand  dinner-party  given, 
and  a  great  crowd  was  assembled  in  one  of  the 
Squares  in  the  expectation  of  the  arrival  of  royalty, 
he  recognized,  with  a  pang  of  surprise  and  terror 
which  almost  made  him  cry  out  aloud,  the  face  and 
figure  of  Rachel  Davison  not  far  away  from  him. 

She  was  dressed  in  a  shabby  skirt  and  blouse,  and 
an  old,  shapeless  black  hat,  but  the  disguise  was  in- 
effectual for  him ;  he  knew  her  at  once,  and  was  about 
to  approach  her,  and  to  address  her,  when  suddenly 
he  saw  her  withdraw  to  the  outskirts  of  the  crowd, 
followed  by  a  thickset  man  rather  above  the  middle 
height.  Gerard,  hiding  himself  with  a  strange  sick- 
ness at  his  heart,  among  the  crowd,  nevertheless 
kept  watch. 

And  he  saw  her  hand  something  bright  and  glisten- 
ing to  the  man,  and  then  disappear  absolutely  from 
sight. 

Gerard  staggered  out  of  the  crowd,  faint  as  if  he 
had  received  a  physical  wound. 

Was  Rachel  a  thief? 


CHAPTER  III 

THE  incident  happened  so  quickly,  the  appearance 
and  disappearance  from  Gerard's  sight  of  the  dis- 
guised Rachel  had  been  so  sudden,  so  rapid,  so  quiet, 
that  it  seemed  as  if  the  whole  affair  had  been  a  vision, 
a  dream,  anything  but  solid  reality. 

Was  he  mistaken  about  the  identity  of  the  girl? 

Gerard  began  to  think  he  must  be.  After  all,  it 
was  night-time,  there  was  a  great  crowd  of  people 
about  him,  pushing  and  struggling,  and  it  was  easy 
enough,  in  such  circumstances,  to  mistake  an  acci- 
dental likeness  for  a  strong  one. 

At  least,  this  was  what  he  told  himself,  desper- 
ately anxious  not  to  be  forced  to  come  to  the  con- 
clusion that  the  girl  he  had  just  seen  acting  in  such 
a  strange,  and  such  a  suspicious  manner,  was  the  beau- 
tiful Rachel  Davison  who  had  made  so  great  an  im- 
pression upon  him,  whom  he  could  not  forget. 

Although,  however,  he  was  unable  to  accept  his 
own  argument  that  he  might  have  been  mistaken  as 
to  the  identity  of  the  woman,  it  was  still  open  to  him 
to  invent  reasons  why  he  might  have  been  mistaken 
as  to  what  she  was  doing.  He  had  believed  he  saw 
her  hand  to  a  man  a  glittering  ornament  which 

27 


28  THE  DAZZLING 

looked  like  diamonds.  And  the  impression  had 
brought  vividly  and  painfully  to  his  mind  the  re- 
membrance of  the  first  occasion  of  his  meeting  Ra- 
chel, and  of  her  display  of  nimbleness  with  her 
fingers. 

There  came  back  to  his  mind  with  unpleasant 
iteration  the  words  she  had  uttered  about  her  ac- 
complishment being  good  for  nothing;  unless  she 
meant  to  pick  pockets. 

Of  course  she  had  uttered  them  lightly,  and  of 
course  he  had  taken  them  as  a  jest.  Of  course  he 
knew  too  that  the  idea  of  connecting  the  brilliant 
Miss  Davison  with  the  pursuits  of  a  pickpocket  was 
absurd,  revolting,  horrible. 

He  did  not  even,  so  he  told  himself,  think  the 
matter  worth  a  second  thought.  But  he  went  on 
thinking  of  nothing  else,  and  hurried  away  to  his 
rooms  in  Buckingham  Street,  oppressed  by  a  sensa- 
tion of  discomfort  and  depression,  such  as  he  could 
not  remember  having  ever  experienced  before. 

He  stopped  short  suddenly  as  he  was  walking 
quickly  along  and  tried  to  remember  what  the  man 
was  like  to  whom  he  had  seen  her  hand  the  glittering 
ob  j  ect. 

But  the  whole  episode  had  passed  so  swiftly,  his 
own  attention  had  been  so  completely  absorbed  in 
the  girl  herself  and  in  what  she  was  doing,  that  he 
had  had  no  time  or  attention  left  for  the  man.  He 
remembered  vaguely  that  the  man's  back  was  turned 


29 

to  him,  that  he  was  tall  and  broad-shouldered  and 
that  he  wore  a  dark  overcoat,  but  he  could  recall  no 
more  details,  try  as  he  would. 

The  man,  too,  appeared  to  have  been  an  expert  at 
rapid  disappearance,  for  when  Gerard  had  turned 
to  look  for  him  he  was  gone. 

Supposing  that  Miss  Davison,  being  a  designer 
and  therefore  an  artist,  had  been  in  the  habit  of  dis- 
guising herself  in  order  to  be  able  to  move  about 
freely,  and  to  see  more  of  the  world  and  of  life  than 
she  could  in  her  own  proper  person.  Surely  there 
was  a  possibility  of  that!  There  had  been  instances 
before  of  great  artists  passing  themselves  off  as  peo- 
ple of  a  lower  station,  in  order  to  gain  information. 
And,  now  he  thought  of  it,  it  seemed  to  him  highly 
probable,  and  not  merely  possible,  that  this  high- 
spirited  and  clever  woman,  always  active  and  on  the 
alert  for  the  means  to  make  money  for  her  family  as 
well  as  for  herself,  should  make  a  practice  of  disguis- 
ing herself  in  the  dress  of  a  poor  working  girl,  in  or- 
der the  more  readily  to  pass  without  attracting  com- 
ment among  the  crowds  of  London,  and  perhaps  even 
to  collect  facts  which  she  could  dress  up  into  attractive 
press  articles,  or  into  book  shape,  with  the  object  of 
earning  a  larger  income. 

The  more  he  considered  the  matter,  the  more  rea- 
sonable this  idea  seemed.  Her  sister  had  said  that 
she  was  a  designer.  Was  it  not  more  than  probable 
that  that  was  what  Rachel  called  herself,  and  that  her 


30  THE  DAZZLING 

real  occupation  was  that  of  a  journalist,  one  of 
which  her  old-fashioned  mother  would  probably  have 
disapproved  if  she  had  been  told  of  it. 

The  little  story  grew  in  his  mind  until  it  seemed  the 
likeliest  thing  in  the  world.  Rachel,  anxious  for 
something  to  do,  aware  of  her  singular  cleverness  in 
gliding  about  without  attracting  too  much  attention, 
had  availed  herself  of  the  only  means  at  her  disposal 
of  earning  a  good  income,  by  becoming  a  journalist; 
and,  in  order  to  get  the  sort  of  first-hand  knowledge 
of  life  necessary  for  her  purpose,  she  habitually  went 
about  disguised  as  a  girl  of  the  poorer  classes.  Be- 
cause she  knew  her  mother  would  be  distressed  if  she 
were  to  know  what  profession  her  daughter  followed, 
Rachel  had  given  out  that  she  was  an  artist  and  de- 
signer, and  so  got  the  time  she  wanted  to  herself,  and 
represented  herself  as  having  a  studio  near  Regent 
Street,  in  order  to  account  for  the  hours  when  she 
was  occupied  collecting  information  for  the  editors 
who  employed  her. 

The  longer  he  lingered  upon  this  hypothesis,  the 
more  he  liked  it ;  but  in  spite  of  his  arguments,  there 
lingered  at  the  bottom  of  his  mind  a  vague  fear  that 
his  little  story  was  but  a  fiction  after  all. 

For  what  of  the  glittering  thing  he  had  seen  her 
pass  to  the  man? 

And  what  of  the  man? 

Even  if  his  own  fanciful  theory  were  correct  Ger- 
ard did  not  like  the  intrusion  of  a  man  into  the  story. 


MISS  D  AVI  SON  31 

He  could  not  deceive  himself  about  that.  There  had 
been  a  man  in  the  case,  apparently  young,  for  he  ap- 
peared to  be  as  active  as  herself,  and  —  there  had  been 
that  glittering  thing  which  he  knew,  after  all,  to  be  a 
diamond. 

What  had  the  professional  journalist  to  do  with 
diamonds?  What  had  she  to  do  with  a  man? 

Gerard  resented  his  own  fears,  his  own  doubts,  and, 
determined  to  solve  the  mystery  at  no  matter  what 
cost,  on  the  following  afternoon  he  dared  to  call  at 
Lady  Jennings'  house,  and  to  ask  boldly  for  Miss 
Davison. 

"  Miss  Davison  is  not  here  at  present,  sir,"  said 
the  footman. 

"  She  lives  here  does  she  not?  "  asked  Gerard. 

"  Oh,  yes,  sir,  she  lives  here  for  the  most  part. 
But  she  has  to  spend  some  time  with  Mrs.  Davison  at 
Brighton.  She's  been  down  there  for  the  past  three 
weeks,  sir." 

Gerard  felt  as  if  he  had  had  a  blow.  For  it  was 
on  the  previous  night  that  he  had  seen,  or  believed 
he  saw,  Rachel  in  the  crowd,  and  now  he  was  told 
that  she  was  at  Brighton! 

He  was  about  to  retire,  very  dissatisfied,  and  with- 
out knowing  what  step  he  should  take  next  to  solve 
the  problem  which  distressed  him,  when  a  door  opened 
into  the  hall  and  Lady  Jennings,  whom  he  remem- 
bered, having  seen  her  at  Burlington  House,  came 
out  and  asked  him  to  come  in. 


32  THE  DAZZLING 

She  was  a  delightful  old  lady,  with  silver-white 
hair  and  keen  eyes,  who  dressed  perfectly,  and  who 
was  a  little  queen  in  her  way. 

She  was  gowned  in  silver-gray  satin  with  that  pro- 
fusion of  rich-toned  old  lace  which  every  elderly  lady 
who  cares  for  her  appearance  should  never  omit  from 
her  wardrobe.  A  knot  of  lace  which  yet  was  not  a 
cap  was  fastened  in  her  beautiful  white  hair  by  two 
large-headed  amber  and  gold  pins,  and  the  rest  of  the 
jewelry  she  wore  was  old-fashioned,  but  appropriate 
and  handsome. 

She  led  Gerard  into  a  long  room  with  a  dining- 
table  at  one  end,  and  every  accessory  of  a  boudoir  at 
the  other.  Among  her  flowers  and  her  canaries,  her 
fancy-work  and  her  pet  dogs  she  seated  herself  in  a 
high  armchair  which  seemed  specially  designed  to 
show  off  her  handsome,  erect  figure  and  clever,  sym- 
pathetic face ;  and  then  her  dark  eyes  softened  as  she 
turned  to  her  guest  and  said  — 

"And  so  your  name  is  Buckland?  Tell  me,  are 
you  any  relation  to  Sir  Joseph  Buckland,  of  the 
Norfolk  branch  of  the  family  ?  " 

"  I  am  his  grandson,"  answered  Gerard. 

"  Dear  me !  How  singular !  And  I  danced  with 
him  at  the  ball  he  gave  on  the  coming  of  age  of  his 
eldest  son ! " 

"  My  uncle,"  said  Gerard.     "  He's  dead  now." 

"  Dear  me !  Jo  Buckland  dead !  Then  you  are 
the  heir  to  the  title,  surely ! " 


MISS  D  AVI  SON  33 

"  Yes,  but  not  very  much  more,  I'm  afraid." 

"  Well,  well,  they  tell  me  you're  very  clever,  and 
that  you'll  bring  back  fortune  to  the  old  house." 

"Who  told  you  that?"  asked  Gerard,  surprised. 

"  My  protege,  Rachel  Davison.  She  heard  it 
from  the  people  at  whose  house  she  met  you." 

"  The  Aldingtons?  " 

"  Yes,  that  was  the  name.  She  seemed  so  much  in- 
terested in  you  that  I've  been  anxious  to  know  you 
ever  since,  especially  as  I  thought  you  might  be  re- 
lated to  my  old  friends.  But  Rachel  is  an  odd  crea- 
ture. She  wouldn't  let  me  speak  to  you,  and  I 
thought  perhaps  she  was  jealous  of  my  attractions." 

And  the  old  lady  laughed  delightfully. 

"  That  may  well  have  been,"  said  Gerard,  smiling. 

Lady  Jennings  looked  at  him  with  keen,  dark  eyes. 

"  Rachel's  an  odd  girl,"  she  said.  "  I've  had  her 
living  with  me  for  some  months  now,  but  I  can't  say 
I  understand  her  yet,  though  I  pride  myself  on  hav- 
ing some  knowledge  of  human  nature.  She's  singu- 
larly attractive,  but  eccentric,  very  eccentric." 

"  Yes,"  said  Gerard  eagerly,  "  that's  just  what 
I've  thought.  And  that  makes  her  more  interesting 
than  other  girls." 

"  Yes,"  said  the  old  lady  rather  slowly,  "  I  sup- 
pose it  does.  But  it's  puzzling  sometimes." 

There  was  a  pause  for  Gerard  did  not  like  to  ask 
direct  questions,  though  he  was  dying  to  know  in 
what  way  Rachel  puzzled  her  clever  old  friend. 


34  THE  DAZZLING 

While  he  was  wondering  whether  he  dared  put  a 
discreet  interrogation  about  Rachel  and  her  some- 
what mysterious  accomplishments,  Lady  Jennings 
said  abruptly  — 

"  Do  you  believe  in.  the  doctrine,  belief,  theory  — 
whatever  you  like  to  call  it,  that  everyone  of  us  in 
this  world  has  his  or  her  double  somewhere  or 
other?  " 

Gerard,  scenting  the  approach  of  a  confession 
bearing  upon  the  supposed  discovery  he  had  made  of 
Rachel  in  an  odd  disguise,  hesitated  what  to  reply. 
The  old  lady  nodded. 

"  I  think  you  do,"  she  said  solemnly.  "  Well,  I 
never  did  till  lately,  when  an  experience  of  my  own 
made  me  begin  to  think  there  was  something  in 
it." 

"  What  experience  was  that  ?  "  asked  Gerard,  feel- 
ing that  he  was  drawing  near  to  a  similar  story  to 
his  own. 

But  Lady  Jennings  did  not  immediately  answer. 
She  raised  the  gold-rimmed  double-eyeglass  which 
she  wore  dangling  in  front  of  her  from  a  long  thin 
gold  chain,  and  looked  at  a  large  portrait  of  Rachel, 
which  stood,  framed  and  draped,  on  a  little  table  near 
her. 

"  A  singular  face !  An  unmistakable  face !  "  said 
she,  almost  under  her  breath. 

Gerard  was  alert  and  eager  to  hear  more,  but  Lady 


MISS  D  AVI  SON  85 

Jennings  suddenly  turned  the  conversation  to  another 
matter  — 

"And  have  you  had  your  first  brief  yet?"  she 
asked. 

"  Yes,  but  not  many  of  them,"  answered  Gerard, 
rather  coolly,  disappointed  at  not  having  heard  more 
of  what  he  wanted  to  hear. 

"  And  do  you  ever  go  down  to  the  old  place?  " 

"  To  my  uncle's  ?  Oh  yes,  I  go  down  every  autumn 
to  shoot,  and  always  at  Christmas." 

"  Ask  your  uncle  whether  he  remembers  Dorothy 
Bellingham,  and  tell  him,  if  he  does,  that  she  has 
white  hair  now,  but  that  she  loves  Norfolk  and  the 
old  Hall  as  much  as  ever." 

"  I  won't  forget." 

"  And  won't  you  come  and  see  us  sometimes  ?  " 
went  on  the  old  lady,  with  an  engaging  smile.  "  I'm 
always  pleased  to  see  my  friends,  and  I  should  like 
Sir  Joseph's  grandson  to  be  my  friend.  I  am  al- 
ways at  home  from  four  to  six,  except  on  Sundays 
and  in  August  and  the  early  months  of  the  year.  I 
love  to  have  young  people  about  me.  And  the 
young  people  are  an  attraction  to  other  young 
people,  aren't  they  ?  "  she  said  archly.  "  More  often 
than  not  you  will  find  Rachel  Davison  with  me. 
She's  a  splendid  secretary  and  does  most  of  my  cor- 
respondence." 

"  Your  secretary,  is  she  ?  "  asked  Gerard  eagerly. 


36  THE  DAZZLING 

"  Not  actually,  but  practically,"  answered  Lady 
Jennings.  "  I  offered  to  take  her  as  my  secretary 
when  she  was  bemoaning  the  fact  that  she  could  get 
no  work  to  do,  but  the  girl  was  too  proud.  She 
caught  eagerly  at  the  idea  of  staying  with  me,  and 
offered  to  do  all  my  correspondence,  but  she  refused 
to  accept  any  salary.  Then,  luckily,  she  developed 
this  unsuspected  talent  for  design,  and  before  many 
weeks  were  over  she  was  able  to  send  money  to  her 
mother,  to  pay  for  her  sister's  being  sent  to  a  first- 
rate  school,  and  to  dress  as  she  ought  to  dress.  It's 
astonishingly  clever  of  her,  isn't  it  ?  " 

"  Most  astonishing,"  said  Gerard  emphatically. 

Was  it  fancy?  Or  did  the  old  lady  look  at  him 
inquisitively,  as  if  anxious  to  make  out  what  he 
really  thought? 

"  And  I  never  see  her  at  work,  that  is  the  marvel. 
It's  true  she  has  a  little  studio  where  she  draws  most 
of  her  designs,  and  that  she  does  the  rest  down  at 
Brighton,  when  she  is  staying  with  her  mother. 
But  it's  wonderful  to  me  that  she  can  find  time  for 
it,  when  she  is  always  going  about  with  me  or  with 
other  friends." 

"  She  is  at  Brighton  now,  is  she  not?  " 

"  Yes,  she's  been  down  there  for  the  last  three 
weeks." 

"  May  I  know  her  address  ?  I'm  going  idown  my- 
self in  a  day  or  two,  and  perhaps  I  might  venture  to 
call?  "  said  Gerard. 


MISS  D  AVI  SON  37 

Lady  Jennings  caught  at  the  suggestion,  and  at 
once  seizing  a  piece  of  paper  from  her  writing-table, 
wrote  down  on  it,  with  her  gold-cased  pencil,  an 
address  on  the  sea-front,  where  she  said  that  Mrs. 
Davison  was  now  living  in  rooms. 

She  seemed  quite  eager  to  give  him  the  address, 
and  begged  him  to  call  again  upon  her  when  he  re- 
turned to  town,  and  to  tell  her  how  Rachel  was,  and 
her  mother,  and  when  the  girl  proposed  to  return 
to  her. 

"Tell  Rachel,"  she  said,  "that  she's  a  naughty 
girl  not  to  answer  my  letters,  and  that  I  am  getting 
into  a  dreadful  muddle  with  my  own  correspondence 
for  want  of  her  help." 

Gerard  rose,  much  pleased  to  have  received  this 
general  invitation  to  call  when  he  liked,  but  went 
away  puzzled  and  vaguely  uneasy. 

Lady  Jennings,  he  thought,  was  quite  anxious  for 
him  to  go  to  Brighton  to  see  Rachel. 

What  new  surprise  would  he  find  in  store  for  him 
there  ? 


CHAPTER  IV 

GERARD  had  made  up  his  mind  about  the  Brighton 
expedition  even  while  he  was  talking  to  Lady  Jen- 
nings. He  was  full  of  conflicting  thoughts,  hopes, 
and  fears. 

On  the  one  hand  there  was  the  assurance  of  a  well- 
known  and  clever  woman  of  the  world  like  Lady 
Jennings  that  Rachel  Davison  was  a  charming  girl, 
clever,  high-principled,  and  generous  to  her  family, 
amazingly  industrious  and  dutiful  to  her  people,  but 
amazingly  proud  as  well. 

And  on  the  other  hand  there  was  the  question  of 
Lady  Jennings  as  to  "  doubles,"  which  made  him 
ask  himself  —  what  he  had  not  dared  ask  her  — 
whether  she  had  herself  fancied  she  met  Rachel  Davi- 
son in  a  strange  disguise.  And  there  was  the  old 
lady's  statement  that  Rachel,  while  at  Brighton, 
never  answered  letters,  and  her  evident  anxiety  for 
him  to  go  down  there  and  see  for  himself  what  the 
girl  was  doing. 

Of  course  there  was  nothing  so  very  amazing  in 
this  fact  of  the  disguise,  if  disguise  it  was,  which  he 
fancied  he  had  seen  Rachel  wearing.  If,  as  he  had 
supposed  possible,  she  went  about  as  a  workgirl  to 

38 


THE  DAZZLING  MISS  DAVISON  39 

collect  information  or  knowledge  for  literary  or 
artistic  work,  it  might  well  be  that  she  would  not 
tell  Lady  Jennings  all  the  details  of  what  she  did  in 
the  way  of  her  professional  career. 

It  seemed,  indeed,  as  far  as  he  could  judge,  as  if 
this  clever,  independent  young  woman  were  rather 
a  puzzle  to  her  own  friends,  and  as  if  they  treated 
her  with  so  much  respect  that  they  even  condescended 
to  allow  her  to  keep  her  own  secrets.  But  Gerard 
himself  felt  that  he  could  not  be  thus  content. 
Admiring  Rachel  Davison  with  an  admiration  which 
grew  ever  more  perilous  to  his  peace  of  mind  as  the 
mysterious  circumstances  connected  with  her  made 
her  more  interesting,  he  felt  that  the  one  thing  more 
important  than  anything  else  to  him  at  that  time 
was  the  solution  of  the  mystery  about  her. 

And  within  a  few  days  he  was  at  Brighton,  with 
the  especial  object  of  finding  out  what  he  could 
about  Rachel's  life  while  staying  with  her  mother. 

It  was  with  a  fast-beating  heart  and  an  uncom- 
fortable feeling  that  he  had  not  come  in  an  honest 
capacity,  but  in  the  character  of  a  spy,  that  Gerard 
rang  the  bell  of  the  old-fashioned  but  substantial 
lodging-house  on  the  Brighton  sea-front,  the  address 
of  which  had  been  given  him  by  Lady  Jennings. 

He  asked  the  maid  who  opened  the  door  whether 
Miss  Davison  was  at  home. 

"  No,  sir,  not  Miss  Davison ;  but  Mrs.  Davison 
is,"  answered  the  servant  at  once. 


40  THE.  DAZZLING 

Gerard  decided  at  once  to  see  Mrs.  Davison  and 
to  find  out  something  at  least  about  the  mother  of 
the  girl  in  whom  he  was  so  much  interested.  He  had 
heard  two  different  accounts  of  her;  the  one,  from 
Rachel,  implied  that  she  was  a  woman  of  some  charac- 
ter, deeply  suffering  from  the  change  she  had  suf- 
fered in  circumstances,  and  the  other,  from  Rose 
Aldington,  which  was  quite  another  kind  of  person. 

He  was  shown  into  a  sitting-room  overlooking  the 
parade,  and  there  he  found  a  lady  not  yet  past  mid- 
dle age,  with  hair  scarcely  touched  with  gray, 
and  so  like  her  elder  daughter  that  it  was  impossible 
to  see  the  one  without  being  reminded  of  the  other. 

Mrs.  Davison  remembered  the  name,  when  Gerard 
was  announced,  and  welcoming  him  with  an  out- 
stretched hand,  said  — 

"  Ah,  Mr.  Buckland,  I  have  heard  something  about 
you  from  both  my  daughters,  and  I  am  very  glad  to 
make  your  acquaintance." 

Gerard  was  surprised  and  much  pleased  to  hear 
this,  though  he  wondered  in  what  way  he  had  been 
mentioned  by  the  girls.  Mrs.  Davison,  who  seemed 
a  placid,  happy-looking  woman,  and  who  had  laid 
down  her  novel  when  he  came  in,  and  begun  to  fondle 
a  white  Persian  cat  who  resented  the  attention  after 
the  manner  of  his  kind,  invited  him  to  take  a  chair 
near  her,  and  asked  him  if  he  was  staying  in 
Brighton. 

"  Only  for  a  day,"  said  he ;  "  but  I  was  so  anxious 


MISS  DAVISON  41 

to  make  your  acquaintance,  knowing  your  two 
daughters,  as  I  have  the  pleasure  of  doing,  that  I 
thought  I  would  venture  to  call." 

"  I'm  very  glad  you  did,"  said  Mrs.  Davison. 
"  To  tell  you  the  truth,  although  I'm  so  handsomely 
lodged  here,  through  the  cleverness  and  hard  work  of 
my  eldest  daughter  —  which  I  dare  say  you  know  all 
about,  Mr.  Buckland,  I'm  rather  lonely  down  here. 
You  see,  although  Brighton  is  near  London,  it  is  not 
quite  the  same  thing  for  one's  friends  to  take  a  han- 
som or  an  omnibus  to  come  and  see  one,  as  to  take 
the  train." 

"  Of  course  not.  I  wonder  you  didn't  settle  in 
London,  since  you  are  so  much  alone,"  said  Gerard. 

Mrs.  Davison  sighed  with  resignation. 
k  "  It  was  a  fancy  of  my  daughter  Rachel's,"  she 
explained,  "  that  I  should  be  happier  down  here  by 
the  sea.  But  I  sometimes  think,  though  I  haven't 
liked  to  say  so,  that  I  would  rather  have  had  a  tiny 
flat  somewhere  nearer  my  friends  in  town." 

She  spoke  very  gently,  but  it  was  evident  that  she 
suffered  more  acutely  than  she  liked  to  own  from  her 
isolation. 

"  But  you  often  have  your  daughters  with  you, 
don't  you  ?  "  asked  Gerard,  feeling  as  he  asked  the 
question,  uncomfortably  like  a  spy. 

"  Not  so  very  often,"  answered  the  lady  in  a  tone 
of  mild  regret.  "  Lilian  is  at  school,  and  I  don't 
see  her  except  during  the  holidays.  And  Rachel  lives 


42  THE  DAZZLING 

with  Lady  Jennings,  as  perhaps  you  know.  I 
couldn't  interfere  with  that  arrangement,  because, 
of  course,  socially  it's  such  a  good  thing  for  my  girl 
to  live  with  a  woman  who  goes  about  so  much  as  Lady 
Jennings  does.  And  through  Rachel's  pride  and 
energy,  she  is  able  to  earn  her  own  living  and  so  to 
keep  her  independence,  while  Lady  Jennings  is  very 
grateful  for  her  help  and  companionship." 

"  But  isn't  Miss  Rachel  staying  with  you  now  ?  " 
asked  Gerard,  in  a  stifled  voice,  remembering  that 
Lady  Jennings  had  said  the  girl  had  been  with  her 
mother  for  the  past  three  weeks. 

"  Oh  no,  I  haven't  seen  anything  of  her  for  more 
than  a  month.  She's  with  Lady  Jennings." 

Gerard  said  nothing  to  this;  indeed  he  felt  as  if 
he  could  not  have  spoken  to  save  his  life.  In  spite 
of  all  the  fears  and  doubts  which  had  previously 
troubled  him  concerning  Rachel  Davison,  in  spite 
of  what  he  had  seen  with  his  own  eyes  and  heard  with 
his  own  ears,  he  had  never  once  supposed  her  capable 
of  such  elaborate  and  carefully  planned  deceit  as 
that  of  which  he  now  found  her  to  be  the  author. 

For  what  was  this  story,  as  it  was  now  unfolded 
to  him?  Nothing  less  than  a  deliberate  lie  acted 
continually  and  consistently,  not  only  to  her  mother 
but  to  Lady  Jennings? 

For  the  past  three  weeks  each  of  these  two  ladies 
had  supposed  Rachel  to  be  living  with  the  other, 
and  during  that  time  he  himself  had  had  what  he 


MISS  DAVISON  43 

now  began  to  think  was  absolute  ocular  proof,  that 
she  had  been  living  in  London  disguised  as  a  work- 
girl  all  the  while. 

Of  course  it  was  true  that  the  hypothesis  that  she 
was  engaged  in  sensational  journalism  held  good  still. 
It  might  be  that  Rachel,  knowing  neither  her  mother 
nor  Lady  Jennings  would  approve  of  the  way  in 
which  she  would  have  to  gain  actual  experience  by 
living  among  people  of  a  much  lower  social  rank 
than  her  own,  had  devised  this  method  of  keeping  her 
experiences  a  secret  from  them.  But  even  if  this 
were  true,  Gerard  felt  that  it  was  too  daring  a  step 
for  a  young  woman  to  take  without  the  support  and 
advice  of  some  older  member  of  her  own  sex. 

And  then  —  the  episode  of  the  flashing  ornament 
handed  to  the  man ! 

He  wished  that  he  could  do  one  of  two  things: 
either  look  upon  all  this  that  he  had  heard  and  seen 
concerning  Rachel  and  her  adventures  as  the  work  of 
imagination,  or  fact  distorted  by  imagination;  or 
else  that  he  could  give  up  thinking  about  a  girl 
who,  whatever  her  strength  of  mind  and  her  brilliancy 
of  intellect,  was  undoubtedly  not  entirely  to  be 
trusted  either  in  her  words  or  in  her  conduct. 

"  Oh  yes,  of  course  —  with  Lady  Jennings,"  he 
stammered. 

Mrs.  Davison  noticed  the  absence  of  mind  with 
which  he  answered  the  next  questions  she  put  to 
him;  and  he,  perceiving  this  and  anxious  not  to  be- 


44  THE  DAZZLING 

tray  what  he  thought  or  felt,  exerted  himself  to 
reply  and  to  conceal  the  effect  made  upon  him  by  her 
statement  about  her  daughter. 

But  then  she  put  a  most  disconcerting  question. 

"Do  you  know  Lady  Jennings?" 

"  Yes,  slightly." 

"  You  have  met  Rachel  at  her  house  ?  " 

"  No,  Miss  Davison  was  not  there  when  I  called." 

"When  was  that?" 

"  It  was  about  a  week  ago." 

"  Did  you  see  any  of  her  drawings?  " 

"  N-no,"  answered  Gerard  nervously,  knowing  as 
he  did  that  these  same  drawings  appeared  never  to 
have  been  seen  by  mortal  eye. 

"  It's  most  extraordinary,"  prattled  on  Mrs.  Davi- 
son, who  was  evidently,  poor  lady,  delighted  to  have 
someone  to  break  the  monotony  of  the  life  which 
her  daughter  obliged  her  to  lead,  "  that  Rachel 
should  have  developed  a  talent  for  design,  for  there 
has  never  been  any  sort  of  artistic  ability  in  the 
family,  on  either  side.  But  I  suppose  when  a  girl  is 
very  clever,  like  my  Rachel,  her  talent  develops  in 
any  direction  where  it  is  most  wanted." 

To  this  theory  Gerard  could  only  make  a  some- 
what vague  reply,  and  Mrs.  Davison  laughed  a  little 
and  apologized  for  talking  about  nothing  but  her 
children. 

"  But,"  went  on  the  simple-hearted  lady  with  feel- 
ing, "  really  the  way  in  which  my  daughter  has 


MISS  D  AVI  SON  45 

changed  everything  for  us  by  her  own  strong  will 
and  her  own  exertions,  is  to  me  a  marvel  which  shuts 
out  everything  else  from  my  mind." 

He  congratulated  her,  and  had  tea  with  her,  and 
enjoyed  the  society  of  the  simple  old  gentle-woman, 
with  a  strange  undefined  hope  in  his  mind  all  the 
while  that  Rachel,  the  brilliant,  the  puzzling,  the 
mysterious,  would  some  day  develop  upon  the  same 
lines,  if  with  greater  breadth  of  view  and  intelligence, 
as  this  kindly  and  feminine  personality. 

Mrs.  Davison  let  him  go  with  evident  regret  and 
begged  him  to  call  on  Lady  Jennings  and  to  give 
Rachel  her  love. 

Gerard  received  this  tender  message  with  a  pang. 
It  seemed  to  him  to  argue  more  mystery,  and  more 
undesirable  secrecy,  about  Rachel's  mode  of  life,  that 
her  mother  should  not  dare  to  go  up  to  London  to 
see  her  elder  daughter,  but  should  confide  her  mes- 
sages to  a  chance  visitor. 

He  went  back  to  town  uneasier  than  ever  about 
the  girl  whom,  in  spite  of  all  that  he  had  learned, 
he  began  to  think  that  he  admired  more  than 
ever. 

He  had  (discovered  beyond  a  doubt  that  she  was 
capable  of  elaborate  deceit,  that  she  was  pursuing 
some  calling  of  which  her  relations  and  friends  knew 
nothing;  and  yet,  while  he  remembered  the  incident 
of  the  flashing  ornament,  and  the  further  incident 
of  the  unknown  man,  he  felt  that  he  could  not  give 


46  THE  DAZZLING 

her  up,  that  he  must  find  her  out  and  know  the  truth 
about  her. 

It  was  a  few  days  after  his  visit  to  Brighton,  and 
while  he  was  debating  how  soon  he  might  venture 
to  call  again  upon  Lady  Jennings,  and  whether  he 
should  find  Rachel  there  if  he  did,  when  he  saw,  one 
afternoon  in  Bond  Street,  a  victoria  waiting  outside 
a  shop.  Leaning  back  in  it  was  a  beautifully  dressed 
woman  whom  he  recognized,  even  before  he  got  near 
enough  to  see  her  face,  as  Rachel  Davison. 

She  was  dressed  in  ecru-colored  lace  over  pale  pink, 
and  her  sunshade  matched  her  gown.  A  hat  of  pale 
pink  with  ecru-colored  outstanding  feathers  com- 
pleted an  elaborate  and  handsome  toilet. 

Gerard  was  suddenly  convinced,  as  he  had  not 
been  before,  that  it  was  she,  and  no  other,  whom  he 
had  met,  in  the  shabby  frock  and  battered  hat,  that 
night  in  the  crowd.  He  went  up  to  the  side  of  the 
carriage  and  raised  his  hat,  feeling,  as  he  did  so,  as 
if  the  excitement  and  the  suspicions  he  felt  must  be 
discernible  in  his  looks. 

It  seemed  to  him  that  she  looked  startled  on  seeing 
him,  and  that  her  manner  was  rather  more  reserved 
and  distant  than  there  appeared  to  be  any  reason 
for.  He  was  sure  that  she  had  not  recognized  him 
that  night  in  the  crowd ;  and  the  only  thing  he  could 
think  of  to  account  for  her  coolness  was  that  per- 
haps her  mother  had  spoken  or  written  to  her  about 
his  call,  and  Lady  Jennings  about  his  visit  to  her, 


MISS  DAY  I  SON  47 

so  that  the  girl  Had  begun  to  wonder  whether  he  was 
playing  the  spy  upon  her  movements. 

It  seemed  to  him  as  he  greeted  her  and  she  bowed 
to  him,  not  holding  out  her  hand,  that  she  looked 
paler  than  ever.  Her  natural  complexion  was  color- 
less, a  fact  which  added,  in  his  eyes,  to  her  exquisite 
charm  and  air  of  extreme  refinement.  But  now  he 
thought  it  was  almost  ghastly ;  and  though  he  told 
himself  that  this  might  be  due  either  to  the  effect  of 
the  pink  dress  she  wore,  or  to  the  effect  of  the 
season's  gayeties  and  other  exertions,  he  asked  him- 
self whether  it  was  not  more  probably  the  result  of 
intense  nervous  strain. 

The  elaborate  deceit  of  the  life  she  led,  whatever 
her  motives  might  be,  must,  he  thought,  be  exhaust- 
ing and  depressing  even  to  the  most  splendid  vitality. 

"  Have  you  seen  anything  of  the  Aldingtons 
lately?  "  he  asked,  by  way  of  something  to  say  which 
should  lead  to  no  awkwardness  in  replying. 

"  Nothing  whatever.  I  am  so  busy  that  I  really 
haven't  time  to  go  and  see  them,  and  I  don't  know 
what  I  shall  say  when  I  do  to  excuse  myself." 

"  They  will  take  any  excuse,  rather  than  not  have 
the  pleasure  of  seeing  you,"  suggested  Gerard. 
"  I'm  sure  that  would  be  their  feeling,  as  it  would  be 
mine." 

"  Well,  I  shall  be  going  away  in  a  week  or  two, 
and  I  shan't  be  able  to  get  to  Bayswater  before  then, 
I'm  quite  sure.  Besides,  I  fancy  they  always  go  up 


48  THE  DAZZLING 

the  river  in  the  summer,  and  shut  up  the  London 
house  altogether." 

"  Have  you  been  in  town  all  the  season  ?  "  asked 
Gerard. 

And  against  his  will  he  felt  that  there  was  a  look 
in  his  face,  a  tone  in  his  voice,  which  betrayed  more 
than  he  wished  her  to  know. 

She  looked  startled,  as  she  had  done  on  first  meet- 
ing him. 

"  I've  had  to  go  down  and  see  my  mother,  and 
I've  been  to  Richmond  to  see  my  sister,"  she  answered 
rather  shortly.  "  And  you,  have  you  been  away 
yet?  » 

"  Yes,  I  was  at  Brighton  last  week." 

"  Brighton  ?  "     She  glanced  at  him  quickly. 

"  I  called  upon  Mrs.  Davison,  in  the  hope  of  seeing 
you,  Miss  Rachel,"  said  he  boldly.  "  I  had  pre- 
viously called  at  Lady  Jennings'  house  — " 

"  So  I  heard,"  cut  in  Miss  Davison  with  a  frown. 
"  I  was  rather  surprised  to  hear  it." 

Gerard,  determined  to  go  through  with  the  busi- 
ness now  that  he  had  made  the  plunge,  summoned 
all  his  courage,  and  said  — 

"  I  hope  you  were  not  angry  with  me  for  call- 
ing." 

"  Why  did  you  do  it? "  asked  Miss  Davison 
sharply. 

Once  more  he  gathered  together  all  his  courage, 
and  replied  more  boldly  than  before,  as  he  came  a 


MISS  D  AVI  SON  49 

step  nearer  and  put  his  hand  on  the  side  of  the 
victoria. 

"  I  did  it  because  I  had  been  tantalized  by  one 
meeting  with  you,  and  I  could  not  wait  patiently  till 
chance  put  me  in  the  way  of  another.  I  therefore 
called,  first  on  Lady  Jennings  and  then  at  Mrs.  Davi- 
son's,  in  the  hope  of  seeing  you." 

Miss  Davison  seemed  alarmed,  he  thought,  though 
she  laughed  lightly,  and  affected  to  be  rather 
amused. 

"  To  look  for  such  a  busy,  hardworked  creature 
as  I  am,  in  any  particular  spot,  is  rather  a  hopeless 
task,"  she  said.  "  I  have  been  so  overworked  lately 
that  I  have  had  to  threaten  to  take  a  long  holiday 
if  I  am  not  allowed  a  little  more  relaxation." 

He  hesitated  and  then  said  quickly  — 

"  I  suppose  it's  asking  too  much  to  beg  you  to 
let  me  call  at  your  studio  and  see  these  designs  which 
have  made  so  great  a  mark." 

She  smiled. 

"  A  great  deal  too  much,"  she  said.  "  I  never 
let  anyone  see  me  at  my  work.  Indeed,  having  to 
get  through  it  in  a  totally  inadequate  time,  on  ac- 
count of  social  engagements  I  won't  and  can't  give 
up,  I  couldn't  do  it  unless  I  made  it  a  rule  that  I 
should  be  left  uninterrupted.  Even  my  own  friends 
are  not  allowed  to  visit  me  in  my  professional  den. 
I'm  an  advanced  woman,  you  see,  strong-minded,  and 
all  that,"  she  added  lightly.  "  The  mere  feminine 


50  THE  DAZZLING 

holder  of  a  latch-key  is  a  slave  compared  to  me." 

But  Gerard,  who  saw  that  she  kept  looking  at  the 
draper's  shop  in  front  of  which  the  victoria  was 
standing,  as  if  anxious  to  get  rid  of  him,  was  not 
going  to  take  his  dismissal  until  he  had  paved  the 
way  for  the  explanation  which  he  was  by  this  time 
determined  that  she  should  give  him. 

"  You  are  waiting  for  someone?  "  he  asked. 

"  Yes,  for  Lady  Jennings.  This  is  her  carriage, 
not  mine.  She  is  buying  something  that  ought  to 
have  been  chosen  and  paid  for  in  five  minutes,  but 
she  has  our  sex's  proverbial  inability  to  make  up  its 
mind." 

"  Shall  I  go  and  look  for  her,  and  tell  her  you're 
tired  of  waiting?  " 

"  Oh  no,  I  could  scarcely  permit  that,  since  I  got 
out  of  helping  her  by  saying  I  was  tired  —  as  in- 
deed I  am  —  and  that  I  should  like  the  rest  out 
here." 

"  You  do  look  as  if  you  wanted  rest,"  said  Gerard 
steadily.  "  I  am  sure  you  work  too  hard.  Not  only 
at  your  social  duties,  and  your  designs,  but  —  in 
other  ways." 

Miss  Davison's  pale  face  flushed  suddenly. 

"  What  other  ways  ?  "  she  asked  quietly. 

"  You  do  a  good  deal  in  the  way  of  journalism,  I 
think,"  he  said. 

"  Do  I?    How  do  you  know?  " 

"  Do  you  remember  the  night  of  the  fete  at  Lord 


MISS  DAVISON  51 

Chislehurst's,    when    the   king   and   queen    were   ex- 
pected? " 

Miss  Davison  did  not  reply  in  words.  But  she 
changed  her  attitude,  and  sitting  upright,  bowed  her 
head  as  a  sign  to  him  to  go  on. 

"  There  was  a  tremendous  crowd  outside,  and  I 
saw  you  there." 

She  raised  her  eyebrows  incredulously.  If  she  was 
surprised  and  disturbed,  as  he  believed,  she  concealed 
her  feelings  perfectly. 

"  You  saw  me  —  outside  —  in  a  crowd  of  that 
sort  ?  "  she  said  disdainfully. 

He  nodded  with  confidence. 

"  Not  dressed  as  you  are  now,  and  not  looking 
as  you  do  now.  You  were  well  disguised  for  your 
purpose  —  of  journalism  —  in  a  hat  and  coat  which 
would  make  you  laugh  if  you  were  to  see  them  on 
the  stage,  for  instance.  I  thought  the  disguise  very 
clever,  but  I  remembered  your  face  too  well  to  be 
mistaken." 

"  You  were  mistaken,  though,"  retorted  Miss  Davi- 
son with  a  forced  laugh. 

But  he  stuck  to  his  guns. 

"  I  think  not,"  he  said  gently.  "  I  watched  you 
for  some  time.  I  —  I  watched  you  till  —  till  you 
gave  something  to  —  someone  else  —  a  man,  and 
then  disappeared." 

If  he  had  had  doubts  before,  he  had  none  then. 
Miss  Davison  said  nothing,  but  she  sat  so  still,  with 


52  THE  DAZZLING  MISS  DAVISON 

such  a  fixed  look  of  terror  and  dismay  upon  her 
handsome  face,  that  he  was  smitten  to  the  heart,  and 
felt  himself  a  brute  to  have  tortured  her,  even  though 
the  knowledge  of  what  he  had  seen  could  not  be 
kept  to  himself,  and  though  it  was  the  greatest  kind- 
ness he  could  do  her  to  confide  it  in  the  first  place 
to  her  ears. 

It  seemed  quite  a  long  time  before  she  spoke. 
Then  she  turned  to  him  sharply,  and  said  in  a  voice 
which  sounded  hard,  metallic,  unlike  her  own  — 

"  You  have  made  a  most  curious,  a  most  unac- 
countable mistake.  You  have  left  me  quite  dumb. 
I  don't  know  what  to  say." 

He  paused,  and  then  asked  in  a  low  voice  — 
"  May  I  tell  what  I  saw  to  Lady  Jennings  ?  " 
"  For  Heaven's  sake  —  no,"  cried  she  hoarsely. 


CHAPTER  V 

THEKE  was  a  long  pause  when  this  exclamation  es- 
caped the  lips  of  Miss  Davison. 

She  sat  back,  trembling  and  silent,  staring  out 
before  her  as  if  unconscious  of  the  presence  of 
Gerard  Buckland,  who,  holding  the  side  of  the  vic- 
toria with  fingers  which  tightened  as  he  stood,  looked 
into  the  girl's  face  with  agony  which  he  could  not 
repress.  For  surely  her  exclamation  was  a  confes- 
sion! If  she  had  no  connection  with  the  working- 
girl  whom  he  had  seen  in  the  crowd  on  the  night  of 
the  fete,  why  should  she  mind  what  he  told  Lady 
Jennings?  Yet  at  his  suggestion  that  he  should 
speak  to  the  old  lady  about  what  he  had  seen,  Rachel 
had  shown  the  most  helpless  terror. 

She  presently  recovered  her  composure,  gat  up  in 
the  carriage  and  smiled  faintly. 

"  I  don't  know,"  she  said,  "  why  I  should  mind 
your  telling  Lady  Jennings  whatever  you  please. 
But  it  is,  perhaps,  a  little  disconcerting  to  be  frankly 
and  candidly  disbelieved,  and  the  experience  is  new 
and  strange  to  me." 

Gerard  hesitated  what  to  say. 

"  All  I  want  to  say  to  her,"  he  said,  in  a  low  voice 
53 


54.  THE  DAZZLING 

which  he  could  not  keep  steady,  "  is  that  I  think  you 
do  rash  things,  and  that  you  want  someone  to  take 
care  of  you,  as  you  are  too  reckless  as  to  what  you  do 
yourself." 

Miss  Davison  looked  at  him  with  a  frown. 

"  Do  you  still  persist  then,"  said  she,  "  in  believ- 
ing that  it  was  I  you  saw  that  night  in  the  crowd 
opposite  Chislehurst  House  ?  " 

Gerard  met  her  eyes  fairly  and  frankly. 

"  I'm  quite  sure  of  it,"  he  said  simply. 

"  Most  extraordinary !  "  said  she. 

He  was  annoyed  with  her  for  persisting  in  her  pre- 
tense that  he  was  mistaken. 

"  And  I  am  sure,"  he  went  on  stubbornly,  "  that 
Lady  Jennings  has  an  idea  that  there  is  something 
strange  going  on." 

Miss  Davison  was  prepared  for  this,  evidently. 

"  I  shouldn't  like  to  answer  for  all  the  fancies  the 
dear  old  lady  takes  into  her  head,"  she  said.  "  But 
I'm  sorry  that  you  should  think  it  necessary  to  en- 
courage her  in  them." 

He  could  say  nothing  to  this,  but  drew  back, 
growing  very  red.  Raising  his  hat,  he  was  about  to 
withdraw  without  another  word,  when  Miss  Davison, 
suddenly  sitting  up  again,  imperiously  made  an 
emphatic  gesture  of  command  to  him  to  return. 
Then  looking  him  full  in  the  face  she  said  coldly  — 

"  I  object  to  your  trying  to  make  mischief,  Mr. 
Buckland,  between  Lady  Jennings  and  me." 


MISS  DAVISON  55 

"  I  don't  want  to  make  mischief,  Miss  Davison ; 
I  want  to  get  your  friends  to  take  more  care  of  you." 

His  tone  was  so  quiet,  so  stubborn,  that  she  looked 
frightened  again.  There  was  something  feminine, 
helpless  about  her  look  and  manner  when  she  was 
threatened,  which  touched  him  and  made  him  sorry 
that  he  had  to  seem  so  harsh.  But  remembering  as 
he  did  the  reference  made  by  Lady  Jennings  to  the 
doctrine  of  "  doubles,"  he  was  sure  that  the  old  lady 
guessed  something,  and  he  knew  that,  at  all  costs, 
he  must  find  out  the  meaning  of  what  he  had  seen. 

After  a  short  pause,  Miss  Davison  burst  into  a  light 
laugh. 

"  My  friends,  Mr.  Buckland,  my  real  friends," 
she  said  coolly,  "  have  a  strong  impression  that  I 
don't  need  looking  after,  that  I  can  take  care  of 
myself." 

"  Yes,  I've  no  doubt  you  can  take  all  the  care 
of  yourself  that  a  girl  can  take,"  said  he  boldly; 
"  but  that  is  not  enough,  Miss  Davison,  if  I  may 
dare  say  so,  in  the  case  of  a  lady  as  beautiful  as  you 
are  and  as  determined  to  let  nothing  stand  in  the  way 
of  carrying  out  her  ambitions." 

Miss  Davison,  who  had  by  this  time  quite  re- 
covered her  outward  serenity,  laughed. 

"  I  can't  see  what  ambition  would  be  served  by 
standing  about  in  a  London  crowd  in  clothes  not 
one's  own,"  she  said.  "  It  sounds  to  me  like  the  act 
of  a  lunatic ;  but  as  Lady  Jennings  considers  me 


56  THE  DAZZLING 

eccentric  already,  I  have  no  doubt,  if  you  were  to 
choose  to  put  the  notion  into  her  head,  she  would 
think  me  quite  capable  of  what  you  suggest  you  saw 
me  do.  In  that  case  I  should  simply  have  to  leave 
her  house,  where  I  am  very  comfortable  and  very 
useful  to  her.  For  she  would  certainly  worry  my 
life  out,  and  I  would  not  submit  to  that  from  any- 
body." 

Gerard  bowed,  but  he  did  not  promise,  as  she 
wished  him  to  do,  to  say  nothing  to  Lady  Jennings. 
There  was  another  short  silence. 

"  I  am  afraid  you  will  think  me  a  bore,  Miss 
Davison,  for  obtruding  upon  you  so  long,"  said  he, 
in  another  attempt  to  get  away. 

She  detained  him  instead. 

"  Are  you  going  to  speak  to  Lady  Jennings  — 
and  —  and  my  mother?"  she  asked  imperiously. 

"  If  there  is  nothing  in  my  fancy,  what  harm  is 
there  in  my  mentioning  to  both  the  ladies  the  ex- 
traordinary coincidence?  "  said  he.  "  It  would  pre- 
pare them,  at  any  rate,  for  other  such  coincidences 
—  which  will  most  certainly  arise  in  the  future." 

And  he  tried  to  retreat. 

"  I  can't  let  you  frighten  my  poor  old  mother,  and 
worry  Lady  Jennings  to  death,"  she  said  imperiously. 
"  I  must  speak  to  you.  I  can't  here  of  course ;  but 
I  must  explain." 

Explanation  was  just  what  he  wanted,  and  Ger- 
ard's heart  beat  high  at  the  word. 


MISS  D  AVI  SON  57 

"  Shall  I  call  — "  he  began. 

She  interrupted  him  by  a  shake  of  the  head. 

"  No,  no,"  she  said.  "  How  can  we  talk  before 
her?  Let  me  see."  She  took  out  an  engagement 
book  from  her  carriage  pocket,  and  glanced  at  it 
reflectively. 

"  Will  you  meet  me  to-morrow  somewhere  and 
take  me  to  tea?  "  she  said. 

"  I  shall  be  delighted." 

"  I'll  get  Lady  Jennings  to  lend  me  the  victoria 
to-morrow,  and  meet  you  outside  Lyons'  tea  room  at 
four.  Will  that  do?" 

She  spoke  with  the  air  of  an  angry  empress,  cold, 
reserved,  with  a  suggestion  of  suppressed  thunder  in 
look  and  voice.  Gerard  went  away  in  a  state  of  be- 
wilderment impossible  to  describe. 

Not  only  was  he  now  quite  sure  that  it  was  she 
whom  he  had  seen  in  the  crowd,  but  he  knew  that  she 
had  the  strongest  possible  objection  to  its  being 
known  that  she  led  a  double  life.  He  could  not  un- 
derstand it.  If  she  had  been  a  clever  "  sensational  " 
journalist,  with  subjects  to  work  up  by  actual  ob- 
servation, as  he  had  at  first  supposed,  there  was  no 
reason  in  the  world  why  she  should  not  have  con- 
fessed the  fact  to  him.  Although  he  was  not  an 
intimate  friend  of  hers,  she  knew  him  quite  well 
enough  for  an  ordinary  girl  to  feel  sure  that  he 
could  be  trusted  with  a  paltry  little  secret  such  as 
that.  It  was  true  that  she  might  naturally  prefer 


'58  THE  DAZZLING 

to  keep  her  own  counsel  to  her  friends  on  such  a 
point:  old  ladies  would  certainly  feel  nervous  about 
such  an  undertaking  on  the  part  of  a  handsome 
young  girl  as  the  passing  under  a  disguise. 

But  when  she  was  found  out,  and  by  a  man,  surely 
common  sense  ought  to  have  suggested  to  her  that 
confession  was  the  only  safe  course !  If  she  had 
told  him  simply  that  she  wore  a  disguise  in  the  course 
of  her  professional  pursuits,  and  had  begged  him  to 
keep  her  little  secret,  she  might  have  been  sure  of 
his  delighted  acquiescence,  and  of  his  satisfaction  in 
the  thought  that  he  knew  something  about  her  which 
she  wished  to  keep  unknown  to  the  world  in  general. 

Considering  the  high  level  of  her  intelligence, 
Gerard  was  greatly  surprised  and  disturbed  at  her 
obstinacy. 

But  he  told  himself  that  she  would  certainly  be 
more  open  on  the  following  day,  and  that  she  would 
tell  him,  if  not  all  the  truth,  at  least  enough  to  en- 
deavor to  engage  his  loyalty  in  keeping  her  secret. 

Yet  in  spite  of  these  reflections,  Gerard  felt  that 
there  was  still  something  ugly  about  what  he  had 
seen.  That  passing  of  the  flashing  stone  to  an  un- 
known man,  and  then  the  prompt  disappearance  of 
the  two  persons!  What  was  he  to  think  of  that? 
What  would  she  say  when  he  told  her,  pointblank,  as 
he  meant  to  do,  that  that  was  what  he  saw? 

There  was  all  the  time  underlying  his  admiration 
for  this  beautiful,  spirited  girl,  a  sickening  horror 


MISS  D  AVI  SON  59 

of  what  might  be  in  store  for  him  when  he  should 
learn  all  the  truth.  It  was  not,  could  not  be  possible 
that  she  was  a  common  thief,  that  the  money  she 
earned  was  made  by  practices  of  absolute  dishonesty. 
And  yet,  the  longer  he  lingered  upon  the  circum- 
stances, the  more  he  thought  about  that  interview 
with  Rachel  that  afternoon,  the  more  he  wondered 
whether  there  was  something  horrible,  something  dis- 
honorable about  the  whole  affair. 

That  she  was  not  a  designer  or  artist  he  was  by 
this  time  quite  sure:  every  circumstance  confirmed 
him  in  his  opinion.  No  artist  worthy  the  name  can 
live  long  without  a  pencil  in  his  hand ;  yet  no  one  ap- 
peared ever  to  have  seen  her  at  this  mysterious  work 
which  brought  in  eight  hundred  a  year ! 

That  notion  then  he  took  to  be  disposed  of. 

He  had  suggested  to  her  that  she  was  a  journalist, 
and  if  she  had  been  one,  common  sense  would  have 
made  her  confess  at  once  and  add  that  she  did  not 
wish  the  fact  generally  known. 

What  then  was  left?  She  could  not  possibly  be 
on  the  stage  without  the  knowledge  and  consent  of 
either  Lady  Jennings  or  her  mother. 

What  other  calling  was  open  to  her? 

She  had  herself  bewailed  the  fact  that  women  can 
do  so  little,  and  that  so  few  callings  were  really  open 
to  them. 

Yet  here  was  she,  admittedly  without  training  in 
any  direction,  making  what  must  be  a  good  income. 


60  THE  DAZZLING 

Gerard  tormented  himself  all  that  day  and  the  next 
by  these  and  similar  thoughts,  all  leading  in  the 
same  unpleasant  and  unwelcome  direction. 

The  next  day  when  he  was  waiting  outside  the 
tea  room  in  Piccadilly,  he  was  in  such  a  state  of 
morbid  excitement  and  harassed  thought,  that  he 
wished  he  had  asked  her  to  put  off  the  appointment, 
to  give  him  time  to  find  out,  before  seeing  her  again, 
what  he  wanted  to  know  about  her  mysterious  way  of 
life. 

He  had  not  to  waii  very  long,  for  Rachel,  being 
used  to  business  appointments,  was  punctual.  He 
soon  saw  Lady  Jennings'  victoria  driving  up,  and 
saw  that  Rachel  herself,  very  quietly  but  well  dressed 
in  striped  black  and  white  silk,  with  black  hat,  black 
gloves,  and  a  black  and  white  sunshade,  was  the  sole 
occupant. 

He  helped  her  out  of  the  carriage  and  saw  that  she 
looked  rather  flushed,  a  fact  which  added  to  her 
beauty,  and  then  he  led  her  into  the  tea  room. 

They  were  early,  so  they  had  their  choice  of  a 
table,  and  seated  themselves  near  enough  to  the  little 
orchestra  for  the  music  to  help  to  cover  their  con- 
versation, which  they  knew  was  going  to  be  serious. 

It  was  some  time,  however,  before  Gerard  dared  to 
broach  the  subject  upon  which  Miss  Davison  had 
promised  to  enlighten  him. 

He  could  not  very  well  say,  "  And  now  for  an  ex- 
planation ! "  but  had  to  wait  her  good  pleasure. 


MISS  DAY  I  SON  61 

Miss  Davison,  however,  seemed  to  have  forgotten 
the  reason  of  their  meeting.  She  chatted  gaily,  ate 
buttered  scones  hungrily,  saying  that  she  had  been 
too  hard  at  work  to  have  any  luncheon,  and  enjoyed 
herself  in  looking  about  her,  which  she  did  with  a 
certain  keenness  which  was  not  at  all  like  the  casual 
glance  of  the  ordinary  girl  out  to  tea. 

It  was  not  until  they  had  nearly  finished  tea,  and 
when  there  was  a  short  silence,  that  Gerard  dared  to 
say  — 

"  I  have  been  thinking  all  night  about  our  meet- 
ing yesterday,  and  about  what  you  said  to  me." 

He  was  nervous,  agitated.  Miss  Davison  clasped 
her  hands,  and  turned  to  him  superbly  — 

"  And  what  was  that  ?  "  she  asked. 

But  he  would  not  be  silenced  like  that.  Gathering 
all  his  courage,  he  said  — 

"  You  know  you  promised  me  an  explanation  of 
—  of  what  I  told  you  I  saw  —  that  night  —  in  front 
of  Lord  Chislehurst's  —  in  the  crowd." 

"  And  what  was  that  ?  Tell  me  exactly  what  you 
did  see,"  said  she  imperiously. 

And  if  she  was  disturbed  she  hid  the  fact  very 
thoroughly  indeed. 

He  hesitated,  and  then  said  steadily  — 

"  I  saw  you  —  in  a  poor  sort  of  dress,  with  a 
large,  flopping  black  hat  bent  out  of  shape  and  with 
a  feather  out  of  curl  that  hung  over  it  and  shaded 
the  eyes,  standing  alone  —  or  you  seemed  to  be  alone, 


62  THE  DAZZLING 

in  the  crowd.  Then  I  saw  you  hand  something  that 
flashed  —  I  think,"  he  added,  bending  forward  to 
speak  low  and  hurriedly,  "  it  was  diamonds  or  a  dia- 
mond —  to  a  man,  who  took  it  from  you.  And  then 
you  disappeared,  and  so  did  he,  so  completely  that 
I  did  not  see  a  trace  of  either  of  you  again." 

Miss  Davison  listened  with  an  unmoved  face. 

"  And  what,"  she  said,  when  he  had  finished,  as 
she  put  her  elbows  on  the  table,  still  with  her  hands 
laced  together,  and  looked  at  him  with  a  sort  of 
scornful  challenge,  "  did  you  think  of  that  ?  " 

Once  more  he  hesitated.     Then  he  said  — 

"  I  did  not  know  what  to  think,  Miss  Davison." 

She  smiled  with  the  same  superb  scorn. 

"  Did  you,"  she  asked  majestically,  as  she  looked 
at  him  through  her  eyelashes  with  an  air  of  ineffable 
contempt,  "  think  I  was  a  thief?  " 

The  blood  rushed  to  his  cheeks. 

"  How  can  you  ask  me  such  a  question  ?  "  he  stam- 
mered. 

"  But,"  persisted  she,  "  I  don't  know  what  else 
you  can  mean,  if  you  really  saw  what  you  say  you 
did,  and  if  you  put  upon  it  the  construction  which 
anybody  else  would  put." 

"  You  said,"  he  murmured,  in  a  hoarse  whisper, 
"  that  you  would  explain." 

"  Well,"  said  she,  "  what  do  you  want  me  to  say  ? 
Do  you  want  me  to  assure  you  that  I  am  not  a 
thief?  " 


MISS  DAY  I  SON  63 

"  Of  course  not." 

"  Do  you  want  me  to  say  that  it  was  not  I  you 
saw?" 

He  drew  a  long  breath. 

"  You  can't  say  that,"  he  retorted  passionately. 

"  Oh  yes,  I  can,  and  I  do,"  said  Rachel  slowly. 
"  Forgive  me,  Mr.  Buckland,  if  I've  seemed  to  take 
this  too  lightly,  but  the  truth  is  that  the  whole  affair 
is  a  desperately  serious  one  for  me.  That  girl  has 
roused  suspicions  in  more  people  than  one,  and  will 
again,  I'm  afraid." 

"What  girl?" 

'*  The  one  you  saw  —  my  '  double  '-  —  Maud 
Smith,  as  she  calls  herself,  a  well-known  thief." 

Gerard  sat  back  and  looked  at  her  incredulously. 
Then  he  bent  forward  again,  and  looking  earnestly, 
entreatingly  into  her  face,  asked  — 

"  Do  you  mean  to  tell  me  that  the  girl  I  saw  that 
night  was  not  you  ?  " 

"  I  can  answer  for  that,"  she  said.  "  What  should 
I  be  doing  in  a  crowd  at  that  time  of  night  —  and 
picking  pockets?" 

"Oh,  I  didn't  say  that!" 

"  Didn't  you  ?  I  think  you  implied  it,  though. 
You  saw  this  girl  pass  jewelry  to  another  person. 
And  then  you  saw  no  more  of  them.  Is  any  other 
explanation  possible  than  that  they  were  a  couple  of 
thieves?  " 

It  seemed  to  him  callous,  horrible,  for  her  to  put 


64  THE  DAZZLING 

his  unspoken  dread  into  simple,  straightforward 
speech.  He  shrank  before  her  as  she  did  so. 

"I  —  I  thought  perhaps  I  was  mistaken,  and 
that—" 

"  But  you  were  not,"  she  interrupted  sharply. 
"  It  is  the  bane  of  my  life,  that  this  girl,  who  is,  I  am 
sorry  to  say,  a  relation  of  mine  — " 

"A  relation?" 

"  A  near  relation,'*  she  repeated  solemnly.  "  I  say 
it  is  the  greatest  trial  I  have  to  put  up  with  that  she 
should  go  about  as  she  does,  and  lead  the  dishonest 
career  she  does,  and  that  the  likeness  between  us  should 
be  so  strong  that  not  you  only,  but  two  or  three  more 
of  my  friends  have  seen  her  and  have  thought  —  what 
you  thought,"  she  added  quickly. 

He  tried  to  look  as  if  he  believed  her,  but  failed. 

"  And  you  say  her  name  is  Maud  Smith?  " 

"  No,  I  said  she  called  herself  so.  Her  real  name, 
unfortunately,  is  much  more  like  mine.  So  far  she 
has  escaped  detection  and  conviction,  though  often 
only  by  the  skin  of  her  teeth.  Until  she  is  taken  up 
and  convicted  I  suppose  I  shall  be  exposed  constantly 
to  the  same  annoyance  of  having  her  mistaken  for 
me." 

"  But  won't  it  be  a  great  scandal  for  the  family?  " 

"  Not  necessarily.  Her  real  name  might  not  come 
out.  But  even  if  it  did,  I  think  it  would  be  better 
than  for  me  to  suffer  the  constant  misery  of  being 
mistaken  myself  for  a  pickpocket,  and  by  people  who 


MISS  D AVI SON  65 

ought  to  know  me  better,"  she  ended  with  a  flash  of 
anger. 

Gerard  hung  his  head,  but  he  could  not  feel  very 
guilty. 

"  The  resemblance  is  indeed  extraordinary,"  he 
murmured. 

She  shook  her  head  with  a  bitter  little  laugh. 

'*  I  see  you  don't  believe  it  is  only  a  resemblance," 
she  said.  "  Then  pray  what  do  you  think  about  it  ? 
At  least  I  know.  You  must  believe  that  I  pick 
pockets  for  a  livelihood." 

"  Miss  Davison ! " 

"  Well,  what  other  explanation  is  possible  ?  " 

He  sat  back  again,  pained  and  uneasy. 

"  I  wish,"  he  burst  out  suddenly,  "  that  you 
would  let  me  see  you  and  this  girl  —  side  by  side." 

She  smiled  contemptuously. 

"  I  see  you  don't  believe  what  I've  told  you,"  she 
said. 

"Frankly,  I  can't." 

*'  You  can't  believe  that  a  face  seen  for  a  few  mo- 
ments —  in  a  crowd  —  in  the  darkness  —  surmounted 
by  an  old  tawdry  hat  with  a  bedraggled  feather  — 
was  any  other  than  mine?  " 

Gerard  replied  stoutly  — 

"  Well,  no  I  can't.  I  could  believe  myself  mis- 
taken with  regard  to  any  other  person's  face.  I 
could  think  I  had  let  my  imagination  play  tricks  with 
me ;  but  not  with  your  face." 


66  THE  DAZZLING 

"  Why  not  with  mine?  " 

Their  heads  were  close  together,  the  music  was  play- 
ing, and  there  was  nobody  near  enough  to  hear.  So 
he  blurted  out  the  words  which  he  had  that  morning 
thought  it  impossible  that  he  should  ever  say  to  this 
woman  who  charmed  him,  but  tantalized  him  at  the 
same  time. 

"  Because  I  love  you." 

"  You  love  a  pickpocket?  " 

"  No,  no,  no." 

"  But  it's  the  same  thing,  isn't  it?  " 

"  No.  I  don't  believe  your  explanation ;  I  can't. 
But  I  don't  believe  either  that  you  could  be  guilty  of 
anything  that  was  not  absolutely  honorable  and  right. 
I'd  rather  believe  that  my  own  senses  had  betrayed  me 
than  believe  one  word  of  anything  but  good  about 
you." 

When  he  had  once  begun  Gerard  found  himself 
fluent  enough.  He  would  rather  have  expected,  if  he 
had  left  himself  time  to  expect  anything,  that  Miss 
Davison  would  have  affected  to  scoff  at  his  abrupt 
confession,  and  would  have  laughed  at  him  and  as  it 
were  brushed  him  from  her  path  with  scorn,  putting 
on  airs  of  indignation  that  he  should  dare  to  make  a 
sort  of  accusation  against  her  in  one  breath,  and  a 
declaration  of  love  to  her  the  next. 

But  she  did  nothing  of  the  sort.  On  the  contrary, 
he  saw  her  face  change,  the  muscles  tremble,  the  head 
bend,  and  a  tear  glitter  in  her  eye. 


MISS  D  AVI  SON  67 

"  Thank  you,"  she  said,  in  a  hoarse  whisper.  "  I 
- 1  —  we'd  better  go  now,  I  think.  Lady  —  Lady 
Jennings  — " 

She  did  not  finish  her  sentence,  but  rose  from  her 
chair,  put  out  a  trembling  hand  for  her  sunshade,  and 
began  to  walk  up  the  long  room. 

When  they  were  outside,  Gerard,  who  was  surprised 
and  infinitely  distressed  at  the  unexpected  effect  of 
his  words  upon  her,  said  humbly  — 

"  Are  you  very  angry  with  me  ?  " 

"  Yes,"  said  Miss  Davison. 

But  her  tone  belied  her  words:  it  was  gentle,  soft, 
womanly,  almost  tender. 

He  grew  bolder. 

"  Not  very  angry,  I  think?  "  he  suggested,  as  they 
stood  in  the  gathering  crowd  on  the  curbstone,  neither 
quite  sure  what  they  were  going  to  do  next. 

"  Yes,  I'm  very  angry,"  said  she.  "  You've  ac- 
cused me  of  disgraceful  things,  and  then  you've 
dared  — " 

"  Well,  what  have  I  dared?  "  ventured  he,  seeing 
that  the  anger  she  talked  about  was  of  the  kind  that 
usually  melts  on  being  challenged. 

"  Oh,  don't  let  us  talk  nonsense,"  said  Miss  Davi- 
son. 

"  Is  the  carriage  to  meet  you  here?  Or  may  I 
take  you  — " 

"Whereto?" 

"  Anywhere  you  want  to  go  to." 


68  THE  DAZZLING  MISS  DAV1SON 

"  I  sent  the  victoria  away,"  she  said,  "  to  meet 
Lady  Jennings,  and  I  don't  suppose  it  will  come  back 
for  me." 

"  Let  me  take  you  to  see  pictures,  or  something. 
Do." 

Something  in  her  manner,  in  her  tone,  had  suddenly 
made  him  forget  everything  in  the  consciousness  that 
she  was  not  so  indifferent  as  she  pretended.  He  felt 
that  the  explanation  she  had  promised  him  having 
turned  out  so  unsatisfactorily,  he  had  a  right  to  a 
better  one,  and  he  thought  that,  if  she  would  only 
be  coaxed  into  spending  a  little  more  time  in  his  so- 
ciety, he  should  get  it. 

She  hesitated.     Then  she  looked  at  her  watch. 

"  It's  five  o'clock,"  she  said.  "  We  might  fill  up 
the  time  somehow  till  seven,  when  I  have  to  be  home  to 
get  ready  for  dinner." 

Gerard  hailed  a  hansom,  and  helped  her  in. 

"  Where  are  we  going  to?  "  asked  she. 

"  To  the  park,"  said  he.  "  The  part  where  the 
people  aren't,  and  where  we  can  talk." 

Bold  as  the  speech  was,  he  had  been  confident  that  it 
would  meet  with  no  challenge. 

And  it  did  not. 


CHAPTER  VI 

THE  hansom  went  quickly  through  the  streets,  and 
took  them,  as  Gerard  had  said,  to  that  quiet  northern 
end  of  the  park  where  scarcely  a  breath  of  the  world's 
life  is  ever  drawn. 

They  got  out  and  wandered  into  the  little-fre- 
quented paths,  by  this  time  destitute  even  of  the  chil- 
dren and  nursemaids  whom  they  would  have  found  at 
an  earlier  hour. 

Both  the  young  people  felt  that  they  were  enjoy- 
ing a  sort  of  surreptitious  picnic,  an  unconventional, 
ridiculous  tete-a-tete  which  was  all  the  more  pleasant 
and  all  the  more  exciting  from  the  fact  that  they 
stood  each  on  the  defensive  towards  the  other :  Rachel 
still  affecting  a  haughty  indignation  at  his  suspicions  ; 
Gerard  humble  but  unconvinced  of  the  truth  of  her 
story. 

"  Well,"  she  said,  breaking  the  silence,  "  you  told 
me  you  were  going  to  bring  me  here  to  talk.  What 
are  we  to  talk  about  ?  " 

"  I  don't  care.  Talk  about  anything,  as  long  as  I 
can  hear  you  speak." 

"  But  you  don't  believe  what  I  say ! " 

He  hesitated. 

69 


70  THE  DAZZLING 

"  What  does  that  matter?  "  he  asked  at  last. 

She  stopped  short  and  faced  him,  but  there  was  no 
longer  any  pretense  at  fierceness  in  her  tone.  She 
was  argumentative,  and  she  was  charming. 

"  I  don't  like  to  be  disbelieved,"  she  said ;  "  and  I'm 
not  used  to  it.  I  resent  it,  indeed ;  for  you  can't  re- 
spect a  person  whom  you  don't  believe." 

"  Oh  yes,  you  can.  I  don't  quite  believe  something 
you  told  me  half  an  hour  ago,  but  I  respect  and  ad- 
mire you  more  than  any  woman  I  ever  met." 

"  But  that's  inconsistent ! " 

"  Very  likely." 

"  You  can't  really  respect  a  woman  whom  you  be- 
lieve to  be  incapable  of  speaking  the  truth." 

"  Of  course  one  couldn't.  But  I  don't  think  any- 
thing of  the  kind  about  you.  I  think  that  you  have 
told  me  what  is  not  true,  but  I  take  it  that  you  had 
your  own  reasons  for  doing  so,  and  you  are  in  no  way 
bound  to  tell  me  anything  but  what  you  please." 

Miss  Davison  seemed  surprised  and  touched  by 
these  words,  and  said  — 

"  I  suppose  you  think  that  is  very  magnanimous." 

"  No ;  very  silly.  If  it  were  any  other  woman  but 
you,  Miss  Davison,  I  shouldn't  be  such  a  fool." 

"  Your  compliments  are  rather  left-handed ;  don't 
you  think  so  ?  " 

"  They  are  not  meant  to  be  compliments  at  all.  I 
tell  you  quite  plainly,  without  any  compliment,  that 
I  admire  you  more  than  any  woman  I  have  ever  met, 


MISS  D  AVI  SON  71 

and  that  I  am  ready  to  accept  from  you  conduct 
which  I  should  think  dangerous  and  absurd  in  any- 
body else." 

"  How  is  my  conduct  dangerous  and  absurd?  Do 
you  mean  in  coming  here  with  you  ?  " 

"  No,"  said  he,  smiling.  "  I  mean  I  think  it  is  dan- 
gerous to  go  about  disguised  only  just  enough  to  be 
recognized  easily  by  people  who  know  you.  And  ab- 
surd not  to  confess  your  little  secret  at  once  to  me, 
who,  as  you  must  see  for  yourself,  am  much  too  far 
gone  to  be  capable  of  anything  but  the  most  extrava- 
gant rapture  at  being  trusted  by  you." 

He  had  done  with  reserve  now,  and  he  told  her 
steadily  and  straightforwardly  his  story,  in  tones 
which  left  no  doubt  as  to  the  genuineness  of  his 
feeling. 

"  You  are  right,"  she  said  softly,  after  a  pause, 
"  to  call  yourself  silly." 

"  Well,  won't  you  take  pity  on  my  feeble  intellect 
and  tell  me  —  something  more?  " 

She  shook  her  head. 

"  I've  told  you,"  she  said  stubbornly,  "  all  there  is 
to  tell.  If  you've  inveigled  me  here  in  the  hope  of 
getting  anything  more  out  of  me  than  I've  told  you, 
you  have  miscalculated,  and  you  have  wasted  your 
time." 

"  No,  I  haven't,"  he  said  softly.  "  I'm  enjoying 
myself  very  much.  I  can  talk  to  you,  I  can  look  at 
you,  and  I  —  can  ask  you  things." 


72  THE  DAZZLING 

She  did  not  ask  him  what  things,  but  became  quiet 
and  subdued,  and  occupied  with  the  landscape.  He 
was  seeing  her  in  new  circumstances,  in  a  new  light, 
and  the  change  from  talkativeness  and  brilliancy  to  a 
singular  tranquillity  interested  and  delighted  him. 

"  And  you  can  disbelieve  the  answers,"  she  said 
softly. 

"  I  don't  know.  It  doesn't  follow,  as  I've  told  you, 
that  because  I  don't  quite  understand  one  answer 
you've  given  me  that  I  might  never  understand  you." 

"  I  said  believe,  not  understand." 

"  Same  thing.  If  I  were  to  ask  you  whether  you'd 
ever  cared  for  anybody,  I  might  perhaps  believe  your 
answer,  if  you  would  give  me  one?  "  he  suggested 
diffidently. 

"  Well,  I  haven't.  I  haven't  had  time  to  think 
about  that  sort  of  thing,"  said  Miss  Davison,  in  a 
matter-of-fact  tone. 

"Really?     Never?" 

"  Word  of  honor.  Of  course  you  can't  say  that. 
Or,  if  you  did,  I  shouldn't  believe  you" 

"  Why  should  I  be  disbelieved  more  than  you  on 
such  a  point?  " 

"  Because  it's  one,  I  think,  upon  which  no  man  tells 
the  truth  to  a  woman." 

"  Don't  you  think  you  will  ever  care  for  any- 
body?" 

She  hesitated,  and  once  again  that  pretty,  faint 
tinge  of  pink  color  came  into  her  cheeks. 


MISS  D  AVI  SON  73 

"  I  don't  say,"  she  answered,  in  a  dreamy  and  gen- 
tle tone,  "  that  it  might  not  be  possible.  But  it  would 
make  no  difference.  I  have  laid  down  a  plan  of  life, 
and  I  mean  to  keep  to  it.  The  sort  of  sentiment  you 
mean  has  no  place  in  it." 

"  But  why  not  ?  Isn't  there  any  pleasure  in  —  the 
sort  of  sentiment  I  mean  ?  " 

"  Oh,  yes,  I  dare  say  there  is.  In  fact,"  and  a  faint 
smile  appeared  on  her  face,  one  of  those  charming 
smiles  that  flitted  over  her  face  from  time  to  time  so 
lightly  that  they  illuminated  the  eyes  rather  than 
stretched  the  muscles  of  the  mouth,  "  I  may  say  I'm 
sure  of  it." 

"  Then  why  be  so  stoical  ?  " 

"  Well,  because,  for  one  thing,  I'm  convinced  that 
the  better  I'm  known  the  less  I'm  likely  to  be  loved  — " 

"That  I  deny!" 

She  turned  upon  him  with  pretty  scorn. 

"What  matters  your  denial?"  she  said.  "I 
know!  " 

"  You  don't  know  what  love  is  —  I  must  say  the 
word,"  said  he  with  passion.  "  I've  tried  to  call  it 
everything  else,  but  the  real  name  must  come.  I  love 
you,  Rachel,  I've  told  you  so,  and  the  more  I  know 
you  the  more  I  love  you." 

"  Yes,  because  I  take  care  you  shan't  know  me  be- 
yond a  certain  point;  and  I  never  mean  to.  No. 
Let  me  have  my  say  now,"  she  went  on,  as  he  tried  to 
interrupt  her.  "  I'm  not  a  bit  ungrateful  for  your 


74.  THE  DAZZLING 

feeling:  I  don't  pretend  not  to  be  pleased.  I  am 
pleased.  I  like  you,  and  if  I  were  a  different  sort  of 
woman  I  should  find  it  easy  enough  to  go  farther ;  but 
I  don't  mean  to.  No,  no,  no ;"  and  with  every  repeti- 
tion of  the  word  her  voice  grew  firmer.  "  Just  listen 
to  me,  Mr.  Buckland,"  and  she  looked  steadily  into  his 
face.  "  If  you  were  to  know  more,  if  I  were  to  tell 
you  all  the  truth  about  myself,  I'm  satisfied  that  you 
would  never  feel  a  spark  of  anything  like  sentiment  — 
the  sort  of  sentiment  we  mean  —  again.  No,  look  in- 
credulous if  you  like ;  be  incredulous  if  you  like.  In 
fact,  I'd  rather  you  should  be  incredulous  about  it; 
but  it's  the  plain  truth  all  the  same.  Although  we 
had  a  little  wrangle  this  afternoon  about  something 
you  fancied  you  saw,  and  that  I  explained  in  a  way 
you  didn't  like,  it  is  absolutely  true  that  there  is  some- 
thing to  be  known  about  me  which  would  make  an 
insurmountable  barrier  between  us.  Now  don't  think 
me  hard  and  unfeeling:  I'm  neither  the  one  nor  the 
other  really.  But  I  am  other  things  that  the  ideal 
should  not  be,  and  one  of  those  things  I'll  confess  to 
you.  I'm  proud:  not  rightly  proud,  but  wrongly 
proud.  And  that  alone  is  enough  to  stand  up  and  di- 
vide us  —  forever." 

Even  as  she  spoke,  and  as  it  were  instinctively,  she 
held  out  her  hand,  stretching  it  to  its  utmost  distance 
from  her,  as  if  she  were  warding  him  off.  Something 
in  her  face,  her  voice,  her  manner,  made  the  gesture  so 


MISS  DAVISON  75 

significant  that  Gerard  felt  as  if  he  had  received  a 
blow. 

"  And  now  good-bye,"  said  she ;  "  and  I  thank  you 
for  having  suggested  this  walk  —  and  this  talk.  I 
am  glad  we  have  had  the  opportunity  of  speaking  out 
frankly.  Now,  in  the  future,  all  will  be  plain." 

He  would  have  burst  out  into  an  eloquent  appeal  to 
her  to  be  open  with  him,  to  tell  him  what  was 
troubling  her,  to  take  into  her  whole  confidence  the 
man  who  loved  her,  who  was  ready  to  give  his  life  for 
her;  but  Miss  Davison,  with  her  usual  cleverness,  had 
seen  and  taken  advantage  of  the  approach  of  a  group 
of  people,  foreigners  on  their  way  to  the  Albert  Me- 
morial, to  make  an  effectual  barrier  against  a  contin- 
uation of  their  talk. 

She  insisted  on  going  with  the  stream  of  people, 
and  he  had  to  follow  her,  bewildered,  distressed,  and 
silent,  until  they  turned  into  the  high  road,  when  she 
made  him  put  her  into  another  hansom,  and  shaking 
hands  with  him,  drove  away  in  the  direction  of  Sloane 
Street,  with  a  wholly  conventional  farewell. 

Gerard  went  home  to  his  rooms,  puzzled,  distressed, 
and  perplexed  as  he  had  never  been  before. 

Not  a  bit  nearer  the  solution  of  the  mystery  which 
surrounded  Miss  Davison  than  he  had  been  before. 

There  was  the  puzzle,  that  she  could  talk  to  him, 
could  be  frank  with  him  —  up  to  a  certain  point,  but 
that  she  could  keep  her  own  counsel  perfectly,  almost 


76  THE  DAZZLING 

uncannily,  and  as  it  were  hold  him  off  while  certainly 
at  the  same  time  keeping  him  on. 

For,  mystery  or  no  mystery,  he  was  now  more  in 
love  with  her  than  ever. 

He  made  an  attempt  to  see  her,  by  calling  at  Lady 
Jennings'  house,  but  he  saw  only  the  old  lady,  and 
heard  that  the  young  one  was  out. 

He  haunted  the  streets  looking  for  a  glimpse  of 
her,  but  for  some  time  in  vain. 

But  as  in  London  no  one  can  remain  untraced  for 
long,  and  as  Miss  Davison,  in  her  own  proper  person, 
was  not  the  sort  of  woman  to  remain  long  unseen,  in 
the  very  last  days  of  July  he  caught  sight  of  her  as 
she  got  out  of  Lady  Jennings'  victoria  at  the  door  of 
one  of  the  big  stores. 

She  was,  he  thought,  more  exquisitely  dressed  than 
ever,  in  the  palest  blue  batiste  —  of  course  he  did 
not  know  that  it  was  batiste,  he  simply  called  it 
"  bluey  stuff  " —  with  a  big  hat  and  belt  of  deepest 
sapphire  color.  She  wore  a  row  of  pearls  round  her 
neck,  a  watch  studded  with  pearls  and  diamonds  on  her 
breast,  and  in  her  hat  were  pins  set  with  real  stones. 

He  thought  she  looked  the  daintiest  fairy  princess 
he  had  ever  seen ;  and  the  long  cloak  which  she  carried 
over  her  arm,  of  silk  of  the  sapphire  shade  lined  with 
the  pale  blue,  was  a  garment  which  even  ignorant  male 
eyes  could  admire. 

He  followed  her  into  the  stores,  but  kept  at  a  good 


MISS  DAY  I  SON  77 

distance,  wondering  whether  she  would  condescend  to 
see  him,  and  whether  he  should  get  snubbed. 

She  was  buying  largely,  in  one  of  the  most  crowded 
compartments  of  the  establishment,  where  real  lace 
handkerchiefs  and  dainty  and  expensive  trifles  made 
of  lace  were  being  disposed  of  at  "  sale  prices  "  which 
scarcely  seemed  so  "  alarming  "  as  they  were  described 
to  be. 

At  last  she  caught  Gerard's  eye,  and  he  saw  her 
falter  and  turn  pale  as  she  handled,  with  a  connois- 
seur's fingers,  a  beautiful  shawl  of  modern  point  lace. 

He  wondered  whether  she  was  going  to  cut  him ; 
but  she  did  not.  She  was  evidently  confused  at  the 
sight  of  him,  but  she  recovered  herself,  shook  hands, 
and  then,  asking  him  to  get  her  a  packet  of  post- 
cards, and  to  meet  her  outside  with  them,  dismissed 
him  on  what  he  saw  to  be  an  errand  invented  to  get 
rid  of  him. 

He  was  disturbed,  perplexed,  but  that  was  no  new 
experience  where  Miss  Davison  was  concerned.  He 
went  obediently  to  do  her  bidding,  hoping  for  a  few 
minutes'  talk  to  compensate  him  for  his  docility. 

But  as  he  went  back  towards  the  department  where 
he  had  left  her,  he  met  one  of  the  employes  hurrying 
out,  saying  excitedly  under  his  breath  to  another  — 

"  Tell  the  commissionaire  to  go  for  a  policeman. 
We've  got  hold  of  our  swell  shop-lifter  at  last." 


CHAPTER  VII 

GERARD  felt  sick  with  alarm.  A  shop-lifter!  Al- 
though he  was  ashamed  of  his  own  fears,  they  over- 
powered him. 

He  asked  himself  what  right  he  had  to  connect  the 
arrest  of  a  well-known  shop-lifter  with  the  presence 
of  Miss  Davison  in  that  particular  department  of  the 
stores  where  the  theft  appeared  to  have  been  detected. 
But  even  as  he  did  so,  and  tried  to  think  that  he  ought 
to  be  ashamed  of  his  suspicions,  he  knew  very  well  that 
they  were  justified;  that  the  episode  of  the  sparkling 
ornament  passed  by  Miss  Davison  (or  her  "  double  ") 
to  the  man  in  the  crowd  on  the  night  of  the  fete  at 
Lord  Chislehurst's  suggested  inevitably  that  she  was 
the  person  who  was  now  to  be  arrested  for  theft. 

The  thought  was  horrible.  Even  though,  in  this 
first  moment  of  surprise  and  dismay,  he  had  no  doubts 
about  her  guilt,  he  was  none  the  less  as  much  dis- 
tressed to  think  of  the  disgrace  which  awaited  her  as 
if  she  had  been  one  of  his  own  kin. 

For  the  puzzle,  the  marvel  of  the  situation  was  that 
although  he  could  not  help  his  strong  suspicions  of 
Miss  Davison's  honesty,  he  knew  her  to  be  as  pure- 
souled  as  it  is  possible  for  a  human  being  to  be,  and 

78 


THE  DAZZLING  MISS  DAVISON  79 

the  conviction  which  had  already  been  forming  in  his 
mind  now  grew  stronger  that  she  must  be  a  klepto- 
maniac, and  that  she  stole,  if  indeed  she  did  steal, 
not  from  criminal  intention,  but  by  irresistible  in- 
stinct. 

Of  course  this  supposition  did  not  account  for 
everything.  There  were  discrepancies  in  any  story 
which  he  could  make  up  to  account  for  the  strange 
behavior,  the  glaring  inconsistencies  of  the  beauti- 
ful girl  who  had  roused  his  admiration  and  inspired 
him  with  an  unconquerable  passion. 

She  seemed  far  too  sane  and  well-balanced  a  girl 
to  be  subject  to  mania  of  any  kind,  and  it  seemed  to 
him  extraordinary,  if  she  were  really  a  prey  to  a  dis- 
ease so  acute  and  so  distressing,  that  she  had  not  been 
put  under  some  sort  of  restraint,  or  at  least  that  she 
was  not  constantly  shadowed  by  some  companion  who 
could  explain  her  idiosyncrasy  and  pay  for  the  things 
she  stole. 

He  had  heard  of  such  things  being  done  in  well- 
known  cases  of  this  kind,  and  he  felt  sure  that  she 
could  not  have  become  so  expert  as  she  evidently  was 
without  the  fact  of  her  tendencies  becoming  known 
to  some,  at  least,  of  her  friends. 

But  even  while  he  argued  thus  with  himself,  hoping 
against  hope  that  he  could  prove  to  himself  that  she 
was  innocent  of  criminal  intent,  one  circumstance 
after  another  obtruded  itself  upon  his  mind,  all  tend- 
ing to  confirm  the  fact  that  she  was  too  artful,  too  de- 


80  THE  DAZZLING 

liberate  in  her  plans,  for  an  innocent  victim  of  in- 
stinct. 

The  sending  of  her  mother  to  Brighton,  for  in- 
stance, and  the  cleverness  with  which  she  played  off 
Mrs.  Davison  and  Lady  Jennings,  the  one  against  the 
other,  pretending  to  the  one  that  she  was  staying  with 
the  other,  when  all  the  while  she  was  absent  on  some 
mysterious  and  unexplained  "  business,"  spoke,  not 
of  innocence,  but  of  a  very  well  developed  and  keen 
instinct  for  deceit  of  the  most  flagrant  kind. 

And,  if  her  thefts  were  the  result  of  kleptomania, 
where  did  her  income  come  from?  For  her  appropri- 
ation of  other  people's  property  to  be  blameless  it 
must  be  proved  that  she  did  not  profit  by  it.  Whereas 
he  knew  that,  without  any  occupation  that  could  be 
traced  to  her,  she  made  large  sums  of  money ! 

And  she  had  told  him  frankly  that  her  character 
was  not  a  lovable  one,  that  there  was  a  barrier  between 
them  which  could  never  be  passed. 

Strange  to  say,  however,  it  was  upon  these  words 
of  hers  and  the  manner  and  tone  in  which  she  said 
them,  that  Gerard  relied  more  than  anything  else  for 
his  own  fixed  and  firm  belief  in  her  real  innocence. 

She  was  conscious  that  there  was  something  in  her 
character  and  conduct  that  would  be  disapproved  of, 
and  that  would  make  an  insurmountable  obstacle  be- 
tween her  and  him.  And  yet  she  said  this  with  an 
evident  belief  that  she  herself  was  justified  in  the 
course  she  held.  And  she  was  so  grave,  so  sincere, 


MISS  D  AVI  SON  81 

so  entirely  sane  in  manner  and  look  during  their  talk, 
that  Gerard  had  felt  convinced  that  the  barrier  of 
which  she  spoke  was  not  one  of  the  terrible  character 
her  actions  would  have  led  him  to  suppose. 

And  now  —  what  was  he  to  think  ? 

The  moment  he  heard  the  order  given  by  one  of 
the  shop-walkers  to  a  subordinate,  to  run  for  a  police- 
man, he  determined  to  wait  outside  to  see  what  was 
going  to  happen. 

He  did  not  know  what  was  the  customary  pro- 
cedure on  such  occasions,  but  he  imagined  that  a  cab 
would  be  called,  and  that  a  small  party,  consisting  of 
the  accused  person  herself,  one  or  more  of  the  shop- 
assistants,  and  a  policeman,  would  come  out  by  one  of 
the  side-entrances,  get  in  and  drive  off  as  quietly  as 
possible  to  the  nearest  police-station,  where  the 
charge  would  be  preferred. 

He  thought  that  perhaps,  in  such  a  case,  he  might 
be  able  to  be  of  use,  as  he  could  offer  to  fetch  her 
friends,  and  bring  the  necessary  and  usual  testimony 
to  her  respectability. 

In  the  meantime,  however,  he  addressed  himself 
to  another  assistant,  who  had  overheard  the  order 
given  to  fetch  the  police,  and  asked  him  if  such  oc- 
currences were  common  there. 

The  man  seemed  reluctant  to  speak,  but  said  that 
they  were  very  rare. 

"  I  believe,  however,  sir,"  he  added,  "  that  this  is 
a  bad  case,  and  that  we  have  at  last  succeeded  in 


82  THE  DAZZLING 

catching  a  woman  who  has  been  doing  this  sort  of 
thing  systematically  in  the  big  London  stores  for  a 
considerable  time  past.  She  dresses  splendidly,  and 
is  altogether  what  we  should  call  a  very  smart  person, 
and  nobody  would  suspect  her  of  being  a  thief." 

Gerard  wondered  whether  he  should  press  forward 
and  present  himself  as  a  friend  of  the  unhappy 
woman.  But  he  reflected  that  this  was  impossible 
until  he  was  absolutely,  instead  of  morally,  sure  of 
her  identity,  and  he  had  to  content  himself  with  his 
previously  proposed  course  of  conduct. 

Before  he  could  carry  out  his  intention,  however, 
he  saw  the  assistant  come  back  with  a  policeman ;  and 
both  men,  amidst  the  whispers  and  questions  of  such 
of  the  customers  as  noticed  the  occurrence,  passed 
hurriedly  through  one  department  after  another,  and 
disappeared  into  a  private  room  into  which  all  the 
rest  of  the  persons  interested  in  the  affair  had  retired. 

There  was  great  excitement  everywhere,  which  the 
assistants  in  vain  tried  to  allay  by  assuring  the  cus- 
tomers that  nothing  of  any  consequence  had  taken 
place. 

And  in  the  midst  of  the  excitement,  a  tall,  thin 
man,  tightly  buttoned  up  in  a  frock-coat,  and  wearing 
a  pair  of  gold-rimmed  spectacles,  came  quickly  into 
the  stores,  and  was  led  into  the  locked  private  room 
where  the  shop-lifter  had  been  temporarily  imprisoned. 

Gerard  looked  at  him,  noted  his  black  beard,  his 
silk  hat,  his  professional  manner,  and  wondered 


MISS  D  AVI  SON  83 

whether  he  was  a  doctor  called  in  to  pronounce  as  to 
the  sanity  of  the  thief. 

Then,  with  a  heavy  heart,  after  watching  the  door 
of  the  private  room  for  a  few  minutes,  the  young 
man  went  out  into  the  street.  There  for  a  couple  of 
hours  he  wandered  up  and  down,  without  seeing  any- 
one come  out  who  appeared  to  have  any  connection 
with  the  unhappy  incident  of  the  afternoon. 

He  made  the  circuit  of  the  building,  going  round 
to  the  back  entrances,  where  nothing  unusual  ap- 
peared to  have  disturbed  the  peace  of  the  neighbor- 
hood. He  feared  that  the  party  might  have  gone  to 
the  police-station  long  since,  escaping  quietly  by  some 
little-known  door  in  order  to  avoid  attention. 

At  last  the  hour  for  closing  the  stores  arrived,  and 
the  last  customer  having  left,  Gerard  watched  the 
doors  more  keenly  than  ever,  thinking  that  perhaps 
they  would  have  decided  not  to  leave  the  building 
until  the  customers  had  left. 

Just  as  the  shutters  were  closing,  he  saw  a  lady 
step  out  quickly  and  make  a  dash  for  the  four- 
wheeled  cab  that  was  waiting  outside. 

Gerard  uttered  a  low  cry  of  surprise  and  relief. 

It  was  Rachel,  and  she  was  alone.  He  stepped  for- 
ward quickly,  and  saw  that  she  was  allowed  to  come 
out  by  herself,  and  that  there  was  no  one  in  the  cab, 
the  door  of  which  the  commissionaire  was  holding 
open. 

'*  Miss   Davison ! "  cried  Gerard,   with  an   air  of 


84  THE  DAZZLING 

triumph,  which  made  her  stop  short,  startled,  and 
turn  quickly  to  look  at  him.  For  a  moment  she 
stood  as  if  not  knowing  what  she  was  doing,  or  at 
whom  she  was  looking,  and  he  saw  that  she  was  not 
pale  with  the  healthy  pallor  of  every  day,  which  he 
had  so  often  admired,  but  with  a  ghastly  whiteness 
that  looked  sickly  and  distressing. 

"  Oh,"  she  said  faintly,  **  is  it  you,  Mr.  Buck- 
land  !  Why  —  surely  "  — she  uttered  the  words 
slowly,  pausing  between  them,  as  if  collecting 
thoughts  that  had  gone  very  far  away,  and  slowly 
coming  back  to  the  life  of  every  day  again  — "  surely 
—  you  —  have  not  —  been  waiting  for  me  all  this 
time!" 

She  looked  scared,  and  stared  into  his  face  as  if  she 
would  have  penetrated  to  his  inmost  thoughts. 

"I  —  I  didn't  know  what  had  become  of  you," 
he  stammered  hoarsely.  "I  —  I  thought  you  meant 
to  meet  me  outside." 

She  started. 

"  So  I  did.  I  remember ! "  said  she.  And  then, 
very  sweetly,  as  if  overcome  with  remorse,  she  said, 
"  I'm  so  very,  very  sorry ;  but  I  forgot  all  about  it. 
I  have  spent  the  whole  afternoon,  or  at  least  nearly 
three  hours  of  it,  buying  lace  and  frocks  and  things, 
and  trying  hats  on !  I'm  so  awfully  ashamed  of  my- 
self. Do  please  forgive  me." 

"  Let  me  send  away  this  cab,  and  take  you  to  tea 


MISS  D  AVI  SON  85 

somewhere.  You  look  done  up,"  said  Gerard,  still 
speaking  as  if  he  hardly  knew  what  he  was  about. 

She  hesitated  and  looked  around  her  stealthily. 

Then  she  said  shortly,  in  a  faint  voice  — 

"  All  right." 

Gerard  gave  the  cabman  a  shilling,  and  hailing  a 
hansom,  helped  her  in  and  told  the  man  to  drive  to 
the  nearest  tea-shop. 

Then  he  jumped  in  after  her,  feeling  his  heart  sink. 

For  the  delight  and  relief  of  the  first  moment, 
when  he  had  been  ready  to  look  upon  her  appearance 
by  herself,  a  free  woman,  as  a  sign  that  she  was  inno- 
cent and  that  he  had  misjudged  her,  had  given  place 
to  a  dread  that  the  danger  was  not  over  yet,  and  that 
she  knew  more  about  the  affair  of  the  shop-lifting 
than  for  the  moment  he  had  supposed. 

They  went  along  in  silence,  Rachel  closing  her 
eyes  as  if  too  tired  to  talk,  and  Gerard  dumb  with  fear 
and  distress,  and  a  kind  of  desperate  pity. 

It  was  quite  plain  that  she  had  been  through  a 
harassing  time,  much  more  distressing  and  fatiguing 
than  an  afternoon  spent  in  trying  on  new  clothes 
could  possibly  have  been.  So  he  left  her  in  peace 
until  they  got  out  at  the  tea-shop,  and  even  then  he 
waited  until  she  was  refreshed,  and  until  her  natural 
pallor  had  returned  to  her  cheek  instead  of  the  un- 
healthy flush  which  had  succeeded  to  the  ghastly 
whiteness  he  had  at  first  noticed  on  meeting  her. 


86  THE  DAZZLING 

Then  it  was  she  who,  noting  his  eyes  fixed  upon  her 
face  with  stealthy  interest,  asked  him  abruptly  — 
"  Why  did  you  wait  for  me  ?  " 
He  hesitated. 

"  I  didn't  know  how  long  you  would  be.  I  —  I 
was  not  sure  where  you  were,"  he  began.  Then 
changing  his  mind  he  said  suddenly,  "And  something 
had  happened  at  the  stores  to  interest  me  —  the  shop- 
lifting." 

She  looked  at  him  steadily. 
"  What  was  that?  "  she  asked. 
But  he  lost  his  patience,  and  said  curtly  — 
"  Oh  you  must  know.     Why  pretend  you  don't?  " 
But  Miss  Davison  had  entirely  recovered  her  self- 
possession  by  this  time,  and  she  leaned  back  in  her 
chair,  played  with  the  glove  she  had  taken  off,  and 
said — 

"  Was  that  what  all  the  fuss  was  about?    The  crowd 
and  the  crush  round  a  private  door  at  the  back  ?  " 
"  Yes,"  said  he  shortly. 
"  Tell  me  all  about  it,"  said  she. 
And  suddenly  leaning  forward,  she  looked  at  him 
with  an  expression  in  which  interest  in  his  narrative 
was  combined  with  perfect  innocence  as  to  the  details 
to  be  related. 

Gerard  did  not  know  whether  to  be  amazed,  dis- 
gusted, or  amused.  This  brazen  attitude  might  either 
be  considered  shocking,  perplexing,  or  simply  whim- 
sical, as  one  chose  to  look  at  it.  He  looked  down, 


MISS  D  AVI  SON  87 

and  when  he  raised  his  head  again,  after  being  lost  in 
thought  for  a  few  moments,  he  fancied  he  surprised 
upon  Miss  Davison's  beautiful  face  a  sort  of  wistful 
look,  as  if  she  was  sorry  and  ashamed  of  the  attitude 
she  had  to  take  up,  or  at  least  that  was  the  fancy  that 
came  into  his  head  about  it. 

He  dashed  into  his  narrative  abruptly  when  their 
eyes  met. 

"  A  woman  was  caught  in  the  act  of  stealing  some- 
thing, I  believe,"  he  said,  keeping  his  eyes  fixed  upon 
her,  but  meeting  with  no  shrinking  in  return ;  "  and 
I  learn  that  she  is  an  old  offender.  A  smartly  dressed 
woman  who  goes  about  to  the  best  shops,  and  is  well 
known,  but  whom,  as  I  gathered,  they've  not  been  able 
to  catch  before." 

"  And  have  they  caught  her  now  ?  "  asked  Miss  Da- 
vison  innocently.  He  stammered  and  grew  red. 

"  They  —  they  seemed  to  think  so,"  he  said,  in  a 
voice  that  was  not  steady. 

"  Did  you  see  her?  " 

"  If  I  did  it  was  without  knowing  that  she  was  a 
shop-lifter,"  said  he. 

"  Kleptomaniac,  they  call  that  sort  of  woman  now- 
adays," observed  Miss  Davison  lightly.  "  She  will 
get  off,  depend  upon  it.  Some  old  doctor  will  swear 
to  her  being  in  ill  health  and  not  responsible  for  her 
actions.  Oh,  that's  what  they  always  say." 

Gerard  remembered  the  man  with  the  black  beard 
and  the  gold-rimmed  spectacles,  and  sat  back  re- 


88  THE  DAZZLING 

flectively.  Was  Miss  Davison  merely  relating  what 
had  already  happened?  Had  she  waited  calmly  while 
they  went  for  a  doctor,  and  had  he  then  examined 
her  and  at  once  pronounced  her  as  wanting  in  balance 
and  not  responsible  for  her  actions? 

It  seemed  h'ke  it. 

"  But  they  say  she  has  done  it  before !  " 

"  And  got  off  before  in  the  same  way,  no  doubt," 
said  Miss  Davison  quietly.  "  Watch  the  papers  for 
the  next  few  days,  and  you  will  find  nothing  about  the 
case,  I'll  answer  for  it." 

"  Did  they  tell  you  so  at  the  stores  ?  "  asked  he 
dryly,  and  with  emphasis  which  he  did  not  try  to  hide. 

"  I  know  by  what  I  have  seen  before  of  these  cases," 
she  replied  evasively.  "  It  doesn't  do  any  good  to 
the  shops  to  have  these  things  known,  because  there's 
always  some  sort  of  doubt  thrown  upon  the  case  by 
the  other  side  and  people  are  led  to  believe  that  there's 
been  undue  harshness  in  pressing  the  charge." 

Gerard  listened  in  confusion.  Had  she  reckoned 
upon  these  things,  and  so  felt  sure  that  she  would  es- 
cape the  disgrace  of  arrest,  trial,  and  conviction  ? 

"  Are  they  unduly  harsh  in  this  case?  "  he  asked. 

"  How  should  I  know  ?  These  people  keep  affairs 
like  that  quiet,  and  a  casual  customer  like  myself  hears 
nothing  about  it  except  by  chance,  unless  it  gets  into 
the  papers,  which,  as  I  tell  you,  it  very  seldom  does. 
London  is  full  of  well-dressed  thieves,  and  a  good 
many  of  them  steal  for  pleasure,  and  hoard  what  they 


MISS  DAVISON  89 

steal.  When  they  get  found  out,  the  usual  way  of 
dealing  with  them  is  to  make  them  pay  for  what  they 
have  robbed  the  tradesman  of,  as  they  can  always  do 
easily  enough.  I'm  quite  sure  nobody  knows  how 
much  of  that  sort  of  thing  goes  on.  It's  very  rarely 
you  find  such  a  case  in  the  papers,  very  common  to 
meet  with  them  outside." 

She  spoke  simply,  as  if  upon  a  matter  with  which 
she  had  nothing  to  do,  but  on  which  she  was  able  to 
supply  information,  and  did  so  because  he  appeared 
interested  in  it. 

"  And  what  degree  of  guilt  do  you  ascribe  to 
them?"  he  asked  abruptly.  "Are  they  conscious 
of  what  they  are  doing,  and  aware  that  they  are  com- 
mitting crime?  " 

A  faint  smile  flickered  over  Miss  Davison's  face. 

"  Some  of  them,"  she  answered  rather  dryly,  "  are 
very  well  aware  of  it,  indeed." 

There  was  an  awkward  pause.  Presently  he 
caught  a  strange  glance  from  Miss  Davison ;  she  sud- 
denly looked  at  him  in  a  frightened  way,  as  if  she 
thought  her  last  words  had  contained  a  confession, 
and  was  anxious  to  qualify  them.  But  before  she 
could  speak,  he  said  — 

"  What  makes  them  do  these  things  then  ?  What 
makes  an  honorable  woman  who  is  not  in  want,  stoop 
to  such  meanness,  such  despicable  dishonesty?" 

He  spoke  with  great  warmth,  his  eyes  flashing,  his 
fists  clenched.  He  was  torn  with,  conflicting  feelings, 


90  THE  DAZZLING 

perplexity,  horror,  pity,  contempt,  and  through  it  all 
he  wondered  whether  it  could  be  true,  and  whether  this 
lovely  woman  with  the  frank  face,  the  straightforward 
manner,  the  noble  aims,  the  steadfast  heart,  could 
really  be  guilty  of  the  abominable  crime  of  theft. 

She  hesitated  and  looked  down.  In  her  face  there 
was  a  strange  expression  which  he  could  not  under- 
stand. It  might  be  shame  alone,  or  sullen  anger,  or 
fear,  or  a  compound  of  all  three.  All  he  could  be 
sure  of  was  that  it  was  infinitely  painful  for  him  to 
watch  her,  and  to  know  that  it  was  his  words  which 
were  inflicting  upon  her  a  torture  which,  whether  de- 
served or  not,  was  none  the  less  distressing  for  him  to 
cause. 

For  he  loved  her ;  in  spite  of  the  fears,  doubts,  cer- 
tainties even,  which  tormented  him  concerning  her, 
he  was  ready  to  believe  impossibilities,  to  trust  her 
honesty  and  truth  in  spite  of  everything,  to  say  to 
himself  that  there  was  no  trace  of  the  criminal  in  her ; 
and  that,  if  indeed  these  larcenies  could  be  brought 
home  to  her,  as  he  prayed  that  they  could  not  be,  then 
that  they  were  the  result  of  some  overpowering  im- 
pulse of  which  she  was  ashamed,  and  which  the  doctor 
who  was  called  in  by  the  people  at  the  stores,  had  been 
able  to  explain  and  account  for. 

After  a  silence  which  appeared  long  to  both,  Miss 
Davison  raised  her  head  to  reply  to  his  questions. 
But  as  she  began  to  speak,  her  eyes  were  evidently  at- 
tracted by  some  object  behind  him,  and  he  perceived, 


MISS  D  AVI  SON  91 

as  she  uttered  some  commonplace  words,  instead  of 
saying  what  he  was  anxious  to  hear  that  she  was  intent 
upon  something  else  and  was  no  longer  giving  him  her 
attention. 

He  saw,  indeed,  a  slight  raising  of  her  eyebrows, 
which  he  took  to  be  a  sign  to  some  person  behind  him. 
Turning  quickly,  Gerard  was  just  in  time  to  see  a 
well-dressed  man  behind  him,  in  the  place  to  which 
her  eyes  had  been  directed. 

The  man's  back  was  turned.  Gerard  watched  him 
in  the  hope  that  he  would  turn  round  and  show  his 
face ;  but  instead  of  doing  so,  the  man  went  straight 
out  of  the  shop  and  disappeared  in  the  crowd  outside. 

When  Gerard  turned  around  again,  Miss  Davison 
was  on  her  feet. 

"  I  don't  know  what  poor  Lady  Jennings  will  say," 
she  cried,  "  at  my  being  late  for  dinner,  as  I  can't 
help  being.  I  must  make  all  the  haste  I  can." 

"  I'll  get  you  a  cab,"  said  Gerard  rather  coldly. 

He  was,  in  spite  of  himself,  roused  to  fresh  sus- 
picion by  this  apparent  collusion  between  Rachel  and 
the  man  who  had  gone  out  of  the  shop.  He  went  out 
with  her,  put  her  into  a  passing  cab,  and,  by  her  di- 
rection, gave  the  driver  Lady  Jennings'  address. 
There  was  some  reassurance  in  this,  that  she  was  go- 
ing back  home,  and  he  tried  to  find  comfort  in  the 
fact,  saying  to  himself  that  if  she  had  been  in  any 
fear  of  being  followed  or  arrested,  she  would  not  have 
done  this. 


92  THE  DAZZLING  MISS  DAVISON 

When  she  had  driven  away,  he  was  about  to  con- 
tinue his  own  journey  back  to  his  rooms,  when  a  girl 
ran  out  of  the  tea-shop  with  a  cloak  which  he  recog- 
nized as  the  handsome  one  he  had  admired  on  Rachel's 


arm. 
tt 


The  lady  left  this,  sir,"  said  the  girl. 

He  took  it  with  inward  satisfaction,  for  it  afforded 
him  exactly  the  excuse  he  wanted  for  going  to  Lady 
Jennings'  house,  to  find  out  whether  Rachel  had  really 
returned  there,  as  she  had  apparently  proposed  to  do. 

He  was  half  ashamed  of  himself  for  his  mistrust, 
well  founded  as  it  was,  as  he  got  into  a  hansom  and 
drove  away. 


CHAPTER  VIII 

GERARD  arrived  at  Lady  Jennings'  house  at  an 
awkward  hour,  and  felt  rather  diffident  as  to  the  sort 
of  message  he  should  give,  as  he  knew  it  would  be  din- 
ner-time, so  that  he  could  not  very  well  ask  to  see 
Rachel,  and  yet  did  not  like  to  ask  if  she  were  at  home 
and  then  give  the  cloak. 

When  he.  got  to  the  house,  however,  he  saw  that 
there  was  no  light  in  the  dining-room,  the  window  of 
which  was  wide  open,  but  that  a  lady  was  sitting  in 
the  room  above,  which  he  knew  must  be  the  drawing- 
room.  There  was  a  light  in  the  room,  but  the  lady 
was  standing  between  the  curtains,  looking  out. 

Puzzled  and  disturbed,  he  resolved  to  ask  boldly 
whether  Miss  Davison  was  at  home,  and  did  so,  on  the 
opening  of  the  door. 

"  Yes,  sir,"  said  the  footman  in  answer  to  his  in- 
quiry, and  he  at  once  proceeded  to  show  Gerard  up- 
stairs into  the  drawing-room,  where  the  young  man 
found  himself  face  to  face  not  with  Rachel,  but  her 
younger  sister,  Lilian. 

The  girl  was  looking  charming,  her  fair  hair,  which 
she  still  wore  tied  with  a  large  bow  of  ribbon  at  the 
back  of  the  neck  and  hanging  down  her  back,  shone 
in  the  glare  of  the  electric  light  like  gold;  while  the 

93 


94  THE  DAZZLING 

simple  frock  of  pale  pink  cotton  and  the  schoolgirl 
black  sailor  hat  with  a  pale  pink  ribbon,  suited  her 
girlish  face  and  figure  to  perfection. 

She  greeted  the  visitor  with  frank  pleasure. 

"  I'm  so  glad  to  see  you  again,"  said  she.  "  I 
know  how  much  Rachel  likes  you,  and  how  kind  you 
were  at  the  Academy.  And  you  like  Rachel,  don't 
you?  That  is  quite  reason  enough  for  me  to  be  glad 
to  see  you." 

There  was  something  in  this  speech  which  made 
Gerard's  heart  leap  up.  "  Rachel  likes  you."  He 
was  sure  that  there  was  no  deceit,  no  pretense,  about 
this  charming  schoolgirl,  that  what  she  said  came 
naturally  to  her  lips  from  her  own  knowledge,  and 
he  was  touched  and  surprised  to  hear  the  confidence 
with  which  she  spoke.  It  was  almost  as  if  she  looked 
upon  Gerard  as  a  sort  of  possession  of  the  family,  to 
be  greeted  and  treated  as  such. 

"  I've  been  waiting  here  ever  so  long,"  said  she, 
with  a  sigh ;  "  and  I  am  so  glad  you've  come  to  talk 
to  me!  Lady  Jennings  is  out,  and  so  is  Rachel, 
and  I've  been  amusing  myself  as  well  as  I  could  with 
the  papers  the  man  brought  me,  and  with  looking  out 
of  the  window.  But  it's  so  dull,  and  such  a  shame  to 
have  to  waste  one's  time  like  that  when  I  so  seldom 
come  to  town  !  " 

"  Didn't  they  expect  you  ?  "  asked  Gerard,  in  sur- 
prise. 

A  sort  of  hesitancy  appeared  in  the  girl's  manner. 


MISS  DAY  I  SON  95 

"  Why  no,"  she  said.  "  Something  happened  this 
morning  that  seemed  odd  to  Miss  Graham  —  that's 
the  schoolmistress.  A  gentleman  called  to  see  me,  and 
asked  questions  about  Rachel,  and  didn't  give  his 
name;  and  as  one  of  the  junior  mistresses  was  com- 
ing up,  Miss  Graham  said  I  had  better  come  too,  and 
see  Rachel  and  Lady  Jennings  about  it." 

A  horrible  fear,  of  a  kind  to  which  he  was  now  get- 
ting used  in  matters  that  concerned  Rachel  Davison, 
assailed  his  heart  at  these  words.  Who  could  the 
mysterious  gentleman  be  who  had  come  on  such  a 
strange  errand,  not  to  Rachel  herself,  but  to  her 
younger  sister,  a  mere  schoolgirl? 

"  You  did  quite  right  in  coming,"  he  said,  after 
a  short  pause.  "  It  does  seem  an  odd  sort  of  thing 
to  happen." 

"  Yes,"  replied  she  innocently.  "  Although  he  did 
not  give  his  name,  Miss  Graham  took  it  for  granted, 
from  the  way  he  spoke,  that  he  was  some  relation  or 
old  friend  of  ours,  until  he  saw  me;  and  then,  when 
I  didn't  recognize  him,  and  he  said  merely  that  he 
was  an  old  friend  of  our  father's,  she  began  to  think 
it.  rather  strange.  However,  I'm  bound  to  say  he  was 
very  nice,  and  that  I  was  quite  glad  to  see  him ;  and 
if  Miss  Graham  hadn't  thought  it  odd,  I  don't  know 
that  I  should  have  done  so.  Why  shouldn't  an  old 
friend  of  my  father's  come  and  see  me?»" 

"  Why,  the  strange  part  of  it  was  his  not  giving 
his  name,  of  course,"  said  Gerard. 


96  THE  DAZZLING 

"  Yes,  I  suppose  so.  He  looked  like  a  military 
man,  with  his  white  mustache  and  way  of  holding 
himself;  and  most  of  our  old  friends  are  or  were  in 
the  army.  So  I  asked  him  and  he  said  '  Yes,'  and  that 
he  had  been  in  the  army  some  years  ago.  That  was 
all.  But  very  likely  Rachel  will  know  more  about 
him." 

Gerard  sincerely  hoped  that  Rachel  would  not  have 
reason  to  regret  the  appearance  of  the  military-look- 
ing man  who  had  been  in  the  army,  and  would  not 
give  his  name.  But  the  strange  episode  suggested  to 
his  mind  that  the  police  were  making  inquires  about 
the  Davisons,  and  that  the  white-mustached  gentle- 
man would  prove  to  be  one  of  their  emissaries. 

"  It's  very  strange  that  neither  she  nor  Lady  Jen- 
nings should  be  back  to  dinner,  isn't  it  ?  "  she 
went  on.  "  It's  past  eight,  and  they  usually  dine  at 
half-past  seven,  I  know;  and  I'm  so  dreadfully  hun- 


"  Are  you  going  back  to  Richmond  to-night  ?  " 
"  I  hope  not,"  'replied  she  merrily  ;  "  because  I 
should  like  Lady  Jennings  to  invite  me  to  stay  the 
night,  and  to  take  me  to  a  theatre.  But  it's  getting 
too  late  for  anything  that  begins  before  nine  !  "  she 
added  with  a  sudden  change  to  a  dismal  look,  as  she 
glanced  at  the  ormolu  clock  which  stood  on  a  bracket 
on  the  wall. 

"  I  should  have  thought  you'd  be  having  holidays 
now,"  said  he,  "  at  the  end  of  July." 


MISS  DAY  I  SON  97 

"  Yes,  we  have  broken  up,  and  I'm  only  staying 
on  there  until  Rachel  has  made  up  her  mind  what  I'm 
to  do  during  the  holidays.  Perhaps  she  and  I  and 
mamma  shall  all  go  away  together  somewhere,  but  it 
depends  on  Rachel's  work,"  she  added,  with  a  sort  of 
earnest  pride  that  seemed  to  Gerard  infinitely  touch- 
ing. 

"  It's  very  irregular,  this  work  of  hers,"  he  said, 
in  a  voice  which  shook  in  spite  of  himself. 

He  wanted  to  learn  what  he  could,  but  it  seemed 
dreadful  to  have  to  talk  about  it  to  this  child,  who 
rejoiced  so  openly  in  her  sister's  cleverness,  and  had  no 
thought  of  harm  or  of  wrong. 

"  Oh  yes,  very,"  replied  Lilian  quickly.  "  That's 
the  worst  part  of  it,  that  she  never  knows  what  she 
will  have  to  do  next,  and  has  to  be  at  the  beck  and 
call  of  the  people  who  employ  her.  It's  dreadful  to 
me,"  she  said,  with  sudden  earnestness,  "  to  have  to 
know  that  poor  Rachel  is  making  herself  a  martyr  to 
me  and  mamma,  and  working  too  hard,  much  too 
hard,  just  to  earn  money  for  us.  I  do  so  wish  I 
could  do  something  to  help  her ;  but  I  have  no  talent 
at  all  for  anything,  and  can  never  hope  to  be  anything 
but  a  burden  to  anybody." 

"  I  don't  think,"  answered  Gerard,  smiling,  "  that 
you  will  really  have  to  look  upon  yourself  in  that 
light  very  long!  I  think  I  can  answer  for  it  that 
you'll  find  quite  a  number  of  people  not  merely  will- 
ing, but  anxious,  to  take  the  burden,  as  you  call  it, 


98  THE  DAZZLING 

off  your  sister's  shoulders  very  quickly  indeed,  when 
once  you're  '  out.' ' 

"  You  mean  that  somebody  will  want  to  marry 
me?"  asked  Lilian,  with  a  sort  of  blushing  archness 
and  shyness  combined,  which  he  thought  charming. 

"  Yes.  The  moment  you  are  '  out '  I  prophesy 
that  you  will  be  snapped  up,"  said  Gerard. 

But  Lilian's  fair  face  clouded  again. 

"  Ah,"  she  said,  "  that  coming  out  will  be  another 
great  expense  for  poor  Rachel.  She's  determined 
that  I  shall  be  presented  at  Court,  and  the  expense 
of  that  will  be  horrible." 

Gerard  was  aghast.  Timidly,  hesitatingly  aware 
that  he  was  on  delicate  ground,  he  ventured  to  sug- 
gest obstacles. 

"  But  don't  you  think,"  he  said,  "  that  if  you  were 
to  assure  her  that  you  would  much  rather  not  be 
presented,  that  it  would  be  a  useless  sacrifice  of 
money,  if  I  may  say  so,  she  would  be  persuaded?  " 

"  I  think  it  would  be  waste  of  money,  too,"  said 
Lilian,  with  a  long  face ;  "  but  she  is  very  determined. 
She  says  all  the  women  of  our  family  have  always  been 
presented,  and  I  must  be.  But  what  I  say  is,  that  in 
that  case  she  ought  to  be  presented  first." 

"  Quite  right.     And  what  did  she  say  to  that?  " 

"  She  said  she  was  afraid  she  would  not  be  eligible, 
because  of  having  to  work  for  firms  in  trade.  And 
that  in  any  case  she  hadn't  the  time." 

"  But   if   she   isn't   eligible,"    said   Gerard,    more 


MISS  D  AVI  SON  99 

earnestly  than  ever,  "  perhaps  it  would  affect  your 
position  too;  and  think  what  a  dreadful  thing  it 
would  be  if  the  presentation  were  to  be  cancelled! 
That  happens  sometimes,  when  any  circumstances 
come  to  the  knowledge  of  the  Lord  Chamberlain  that 
-that—" 

He  grew  confused,  and  stopped.  He  knew  very 
little  about  Court  Presentations,  but  was  conscious 
that  in  the  circumstances  it  would  be  madness  to  think 
of  this  one. 

"  But  she's  an  artist,  and  not  engaged  in  trade 
herself,  unless  you  call  selling  her  designs  trade," 
said  the  girl  rather  distantly. 

"  Oh  yes,  yes,  of  course  I  know  that.  But  —  but 
the  Chamberlain's  distinctions  are  not  at  all  logical. 
The  wives  of  small  professional  men  and  stockbrokers 
are  eligible ;  and  a  lot  of  Americans  get  in  who  would 
never  get  presented  if  they  were  in  a  similar  position 
in  England  to  that  which  they  hold  in  their  own 
country ;  while  no  actress  is  eligible,  however  great  her 
genius  or  however  noble  her  character,  and  even 
women  of  rank  lose  their  rights  if  they  engage  in 
trade.  Altogether,  there's  nothing  to  be  gained  by 
presentation  now  that  the  middle  classes  go  to  Court 
en  masse,  and  if  I  were  you  I  would  very  strongly 
urge  your  sister  not  to  persist  in  her  plan  for  you." 

They  were  talking  so  earnestly,  the  girl  impressed 
by  his  tones,  and  he  excited  by  his  fears  for  the 
result  of  the  rash  act  suggested,  that  neither  heard 


100  THE  DAZZLING 

footsteps  outside  the  door,  and  both  were  surprised 
when  it  opened,  and  Lady  Jennings  came  in. 

She  was  in  her  outdoor  dress,  having  just  come  in, 
and  was  looking  cross  and  worried.  She  greeted  the 
girl  kindly,  but  without  losing  her  look  of  annoyance, 
and  turned  abruptly  to  Gerard. 

"Ah,  Mr.  Buckland,  how  do  you  do?"  she  said, 
holding  out  her  hand  to  him.  "  I  hope  you've  come 
to  tell  me  what  has  become  of  Rachel.  She  made  an 
appointment  with  me  at  m}'  club  at  seven,  and  has 
never  turned  up.  She  is  getting  frightfully  un- 
punctual  and  tiresome." 

Lilian  uttered  a  little  cry  of  dismay,  and  Gerard 
glanced  quickly  towards  her  to  remind  his  hostess  of 
the  young  girl's  presence. 

Lady  Jennings  uttered  an  impatient  sigh. 

"  Can  you  tell  me  anything  about  her?  "  she  asked 
imperiously.  "  I'm  told  you  brought  back  her 
cloak." 

"  Yes,  I  met  her  and  took  her  to  have  some  tea. 
She  had  done  a  long  afternoon's  shopping  and  was 
tired." 

"  Afternoon's  shopping !  Why,  she  had  nothing 
to  buy  but  a  few  veils  and  gloves,  that  I  could  have 
bought  in  half  an  hour,"  cried  Lady  Jennings  im- 
patiently, thus  confirming  his  own  doubts  as  to 
Rachel's  account  of  her  occupation  that  afternoon. 
"  And  where  did  she  go  to  when  you  left  her?  " 

Gerard  was  nonplussed  for  a  moment.     He  could 


MISS  D  AVI  SON  101 

not  say  that  he  had  thought  she  was  coming  straight 
home,  as  that  would  certainly  put  Rachel  herself  into 
an  awkward  position  when  she  did  make  her  appear- 
ance. So  he  said  — 

"  I  understood  that  she  was  coming  here,  but  I 
think  she  may  have  missed  her  cloak  and  gone  back 
for  it  to  the  shops  she  had  been  to." 

This  was  a  good  suggestion,  and  for  the  time  Lady 
Jennings  was  partly  appeased.  She  turned  to  Lilian, 
heard  almost  without  listening  the  girl's  account  of 
the  reason  of  her  visit,  and  then  suggested  that  they 
should  all  go  down  to  dinner  together. 

But  Gerard  excused  himself,  and  took  his  leave. 

He  knew  that  there  was  trouble  ahead;  that  this 
mysterious  visit  to  the  schoolgirl  sister  on.  the  part 
of  the  white-haired  gentleman,  who  would  not  give 
his  name,  could  only  mean  disaster  for  Rachel. 

He  was  torn  with  anxiety  on  her  account,  and,  for- 
getting his  disgust,  his  doubts,  his  fears,  he  set  about 
contriving  some  way  of  helping  her  to  escape  from 
the  difficulties  which  threatened  her. 

He  excused  his  eagerness  in  this  perhaps  question- 
able work,  by  telling  himself  that  he  did  not,  after  all, 
know  anything  against  her,  that  all  his  suspicions 
were  mere  surmise.  But  the  very  fact  that  he  feared 
arrest  for  her  betrayed  his  real  belief,  and  he  himself 
felt  ashamed  that  he  was  so  eager  on  her  behalf. 

More  and  more  startling,  as  he  knew  her  better, 
had  grown  the  difference  between  her  character  as 


102  THE  DAZZLING 

unfolded  in  her  confidential  talk,  and  the  avocations 
of  which  he  more  than  suspected  her.  She  spoke  and 
looked  like  a  woman  of  the  highest  honor,  the  stron- 
gest sense  of  right  and  duty;  and  yet  on  every  side 
he  met  with  circumstances  which  seemed  to  point  to 
her  being  engaged  in  crime ! 

One  hope,  and  only  one,  remained  to  him ;  this  was 
that  she  could  be  proved  to  be  acting  under  an  im- 
pulse so  irresistible  that  what  she  did  was  no  longer 
to  be  called  crime  at  all,  but  irresponsibility.  But 
though  he  had  frequently  heard  the  plea  put  forward 
on  behalf  of  this  or  that  woman  afflicted  in  a  similar 
manner,  it  was  not  surprising  that,  in  spite  of  him- 
self, he  shrank  from  accepting,  fully  and  straight- 
forwardly, this  explanation  of  the  conduct  of  the 
woman  whom,  in  the  face  of  every  doubt,  he  felt  that 
he  still  loved. 

Wistfully,  despairingly,  he  still  clung  to  the  hope 
that  some  other  way  out  of  the  difficulty  would  be 
found;  that  the  mystery  about  her  would  be  cleared 
up  satisfactorily,  and  that  he  would  be  able  once  more 
to  look  upon  her  with  the  adoring  eyes  of  his  first 
day's  acquaintance. 

In  the  meantime,  uneasy  and  perturbed,  he  con- 
ceived the  idea  of  going  in  the  direction  of  the  police- 
station  which  was  nearest  to  the  stores,  with  the  vague 
notion  that  he  might  learn  something  in  that  neighbor- 
hood of  what  had  happened  that  afternoon. 

So  he  went  part  of  the  distance  by  train,  and 


MISS  DAVISON  103 

part  on  foot,  and  approached  the  police-station  at  a 
slow  pace,  looking  about  him  observantly. 

The  sight  that  met  his  eyes  as  he  drew  near  seemed 
to  turn  him  to  stone.  Rachel  Davison,  closely  veiled 
and  with  bent  head,  was  being  led  into  the  building, 
with  a  policeman  on  one  side  of  her  and  a  man  on  the 
other,  whom  he  recognized  by  his  dress  as  the  one  he 
had  seen  going  out  of  the  tea-shop  that  evening, 
after  giving  her  a  sign  that  she  was  to  come  out. 

She  had  been  arrested  then,  after  all ! 


CHAPTER  IX 

GERARD  was  puzzled ;  he  had  long  since  ceased  to  be 
capable  of  horror  at  anything  he  saw  done  in  con- 
nection with  Rachel  Davison. 

He  did  not  even  feel  sure  that  she  had  been  arrested ; 
for  he  knew  by  this  time  that  she  was,  as  she  had  said, 
quite  capable  of  taking  care  of  herself,  and  that, 
although  it  looked  as  if  she  were  in  charge  of  the 
policeman  and  a  detective,  she  might  yet  succeed  in 
escaping  from  their  clutches. 

But  the  amazement  he  felt  on  seeing  her  taken  into 
the  police-station,  after  she  had  been  able  to  get  out 
of  the  stores  in  safety,  was  so  intense  that  he  could 
do  nothing  but  stare  at  the  three  figures  as  they  dis- 
appeared into  the  police-station,  and  at  the  cab  which 
had  brought  them  as  it  stood  waiting  outside. 

One  very  striking  circumstance  he  noted  as  she  dis- 
appeared from  his  sight.  Her  appearance  had  com- 
pletely changed  since  he  had  seen  her  last,  less  than 
two  hours  ago. 

When  he  had  put  her  into  the  hansom  outside  the 
tea-shop  and  directed  the  driver  to  take  her  to  Lady 
Jennings'  house,  she  had  been  dressed  in  pale  blue, 
with  a  big  hat  of  the  deep  color  of  a  sapphire.  He 

104 


THE  DAZZLING  MISS  DAV1SON  105 

had  noted  this  particularly,  as  he  was  struck  with 
the  taste  of  her  dress  and  had  vaguely  wondered  why 
other  girls  could  not  manage  to  look  as  well  dressed 
as  she  always  did. 

She  had  had  no  cloak  with  her,  as  she  had  left 
behind  her,  in  the  tea-shop,  the  handsome  dark-blue 
mantle,  lined  with  the  paler  color,  which  he  had  him- 
self taken  to  Lady  Jennings'  for  her. 

Now,  however,  Miss  Davison  was  wearing,  not  the 
big  blue  hat,  but  a  small  dark  toque  swathed  round 
with  one  of  those  large  gauze  motor-veils  which  can 
be  used  as  an  effectual  mask  for  the  features. 

And  her  figure  was  disguised  as  effectually  as  her 
face ;  for  she  wore  a  large  black  garment  with 
voluminous  sleeves,  and  as  one  side  of  it  flew  back  * 
when  she  ascended  the  steps  to  the  police-station  he 
noted  that  there  was,  fastened  to  the  hem,  a  square 
white  price-ticket,  indicating  plainly  that  the  mantle 
was  new  from  some  shop. 

This  incident  seemed  to  him  conclusive  and  stupe- 
fying. 

After  her  narrow  escape  —  if  it  was  altogether  an 
escape,  which  he  did  not  yet  know  —  of  that  after- 
noon, and  after  directing  him  to  tell  the  cabman  to 
take  her  home,  Miss  Davison  would  appear  to  have 
changed  her  mind,  and  to  have  immediately  seized  the 
opportunity  of  being  alone  to  do  a  little  more  shop- 
lifting! 

Reluctant  as  he  was  to  come  to  this  conclusion, 


106  THE  DAZZLING 

there  seemed  to  be  no  other  to  come  to.  For  he  knew 
she  had  not  been  home,  on  the  one  hand,  and  yet  she 
was  wearing  a  different  hat  and  mantle  since  he  had 
last  seen  her! 

As  for  any  possibility  that  he  could  have  been  mis- 
taken as  to  the  identity  of  the  lady  in  the  brand-new 
cloak  and  the  motor-veil,  he  knew  there  was  none. 
Closely  as  she  was  wrapped  up,  Rachel  had  made  far 
too  deep  an  impression  upon  Gerard  for  him  to  fail  to 
recognize  not  merely  the  figure,  but  the  carriage  and 
the  walk,  of  the  woman  who  had  attracted  him  more 
than  any  other  in  the  world. 

He  waited  at  a  distance  of  a  few  yards  to  see  what 
would  happen. 

There  was  a  long  pause,  and  then  a  policeman  came 
out  and  spoke  to  the  cabman  and  went  into  the  police- 
station  again. 

Another  pause,  and  then  there  came  out  from  the 
police-station  a  group  of  people,  among  whom  Gerard 
recognized  two  of  the  assistants  from  the  stores,  to- 
gether with  a  man  who  looked  like  a  manager,  by  his 
dress,  his  air  of  importance,  and  the  deference  paid 
him  by  the  other  two.  There  were  also  two  women, 
one  old  and  one  young,  whom  he  supposed  to  be  two 
more  assistants,  and  the  bearded  man  whom  Gerard 
had  supposed  to  be  a  doctor. 

One  of  the  women  was  carrying  the  very  toque  and 
cloak  which  he  had  just  seen  Miss  Davison  wearing. 
This  one  was  put  by  the  rest  into  the  cab  which  was 


MISS  DAVISON  107 

waiting,  and  driven  away,  while  the  rest  of  the  party 
broke  up  into  twos,  and  walked  in  the  opposite  direc- 
tion from  where  Gerard  was  standing. 

There  was  another  pause,  and  then  a  policeman 
came  out  from  the  station  and  whistled  for  a  cab, 
and  a  four-wheeler  drove  up. 

Gerard  began  to  grow  sick  with  anxiety,  for  he 
guessed  that  the  next  person  he  should  see  would  be 
Miss  Davison,  and  he  wondered  whether  she  would  be 
alone  again,  or  whether  she  would  be  in  custody. 

But  he  was  disappointed,  for  the  next  person  to 
come  out  was  the  well-dressed,  broad-shouldered  young 
man  whose  back  he  had  seen  twice  already,  but  whose 
face  he  had  never  yet  contrived  to  see. 

This  man,  still  turning  his  back  to  Gerard,  opened 
the  door  of  the  cab,  and  looked  towards  the  police- 
station,  out  of  which,  a  moment  later,  Rachel  herself 
came,  dressed  once  more  in  her  own  hat,  and  wearing 
her  pale  blue  dress  without  any  cloak.  She  ran 
quickly  out  and  got  into  the  cab,  and  the  young 
man  shut  the  door  and  remained  for  some  minutes  in 
earnest  conversation  with  her,  as  he  stood  on  the  pave- 
ment. 

Even  then  Gerard  was  unable  to  see  his  face;  for 
the  horse's  head  was  turned  towards  Gerard,  so  that 
the  young  man  had  to  turn  in  the  opposite  direction 
to  talk  to  Miss  Davison,  who  was  sitting  alone  in  the 
cab. 

Gerard   wondered  what  had   happened.     She  had 


108  THE  DAZZLING 

been  made  to  give  up  the  new  hat  and  cloak  which 
she  had  worn  .when  she  came  to  the  police-sta- 
tion. Yet  now  she  was  allowed  to  go  away,  without 
escort,  so  that  apparently  she  had  not  been  made 
prisoner. 

Suddenly  and  most  illogically  he  was  seized  with 
frantic  jealousy  of  the  man  beside  the  cab,  whom  he 
had  at  first  taken  for  a  detective,  but  whom  he  now 
began  to  think  must  be  a  friend  who  had  interceded 
for  her,  and  who  had  succeeded  in  getting  her  free- 
dom. 

Had  he  only  become  bail  for  her  appearance? 
But  in  that  case  she  would  have  been  taken  before  a 
magistrate  in  the  first  place,  he  was  aware;  and  he 
doubted  whether  there  had  been  time  for  that,  even  if 
it  had  been  possible  to  take  her  away  by  some  back 
door,  and  bring  her  back  to  the  police-station  in  the 
same  way,  which  would  surely  not  have  been  necessary 
if  she  had  been  allowed  to  go  out  on  bail. 

It  was  only  one  more  of  the  many  mysteries  which 
surrounded  Miss  Davison  like  a  network,  and  Gerard 
stared  helplessly  at  her  in  the  darkness  which  was  now 
complete  but  for  the  light  of  the  gas-lamps,  which 
were  not  near  enough  to  cast  a  light  upon  her  face, 
the  cab  having  stopped  not  exactly  opposite  to 
the  police-station,  but  a  few  steps  farther  down  the 
street. 

When  the  man  stepped  back  from  the  cab,  raising 
his  hat  in  farewell,  Miss  Davison's  face  advanced  a 


MISS  D  AVI  SON  109 

little  into  the  light,  and  Gerard  was  at  last  able  to 
see  her  plainly.  She  looked  haggard,  fatigued,  and 
excited,  and  it  was  plain  that  she  had  just  been 
through  another  harrowing  experience. 

Suddenly  her  expression  changed  to  one  of  alarm, 
and  he  saw  that  she  had  recognized  him. 

Putting  her  head  out  of  the  window,  she  called  to 
the  driver,  who  had  just  started  his  horse,  to  stop, 
and  beckoning  imperiously  to  Gerard,  waited  at  the 
cab-window  for  him  to  come  up. 

As  he  did  so,  he  looked  round  for  the  other  man, 
anxious  to  get  a  good  look  at  him ;  but,  in  the  moment 
when  Gerard  had  been  occupied  with  Miss  Davison, 
the  well-dressed  man  who  never  showed  his  face  had 
disappeared. 

Gerard  came  slowly  to  the  cab-window,  raised  his 
hat  in  sullen  silence,  and  waited  for  her  to 
speak. 

For  a  moment  she  appeared  not  to  know  what  to 
say  to  him.  Then,  in  a  ferocious  undertone,  she 
said  — 

"  You've  been  playing  the  spy ! " 

"Well,  what  if  I  have?" 

She  looked  at  him  for  a  few  moments,  panting  and 
angry,  before  she  answered  — 

"  You  have  no  right  to  do  it,  no  right  at  all.  Do 
you  think  I  haven't  troubles  and  cares  enough,  with- 
out your  adding  to  them  by  this  insulting  persecu- 
tion?" 


110  THE  DAZZLING 

He  drew  himself  up. 

"  I  can  scarcely  argue  the  point  here,"  he  said 
coldly. 

"  Of  course  not.  Let  me  see."  She  paused,  and 
looked  as  it  were  stealthily  out  of  both  windows.  He 
wondered  whether  she  was  looking  for  the  man  who 
had  been  speaking  to  her  a  moment  before,  the  man 
who  had  beckoned  her  out  of  the  tea-shop;  and  his 
absurd  jealousy  was  roused  again.  "  You  had  bet- 
ter come  with  me  as  far  as  Lady  Jennings',"  she  said 
coldly ;  "  then  you  will  perhaps  be  satisfied  that,  for 
the  present,  at  least,  you  have  no  further  need  to 
play  the  spy." 

For  a  moment  he  hesitated,  and  then  he  accepted 
the  invitation.  At  any  rate,  he  could  warn  her  of 
Lilian's  visit,  and  of  the  message  she  had  brought. 
Inconsistent  and  even  unwarrantable  as  he  felt  his 
partisanship  of  this  girl  to  be,  he  was  glad  of  the  op- 
portunity of  putting  her  on  her  guard  against  further 
dangers. 

He  got  inside  the  cab,  and  seated  himself  opposite 
to  her. 

They  drove  in  silence  for  some  minutes ;  then  she 
turned  to  him  fiercely  — 

"  What  made  you  come  here?  Did  you  follow  me 
all  the  way  from  the  tea-shop  ?  " 

"  No.  The  girl  brought  out  your  cloak,  which 
you  had  left  on  a  chair,  and  I  took  it  to  Lady  Jen- 
Kings'.  There,  of  course,  I  found  that  you  had  not 


MISS  DAVISON  111 

come  home,  as  you  had  said  you  were  going  to 
do." 

"  I  see.     And  what  did  you  do  next?  " 

She  spoke  with  great  irritation,  not  unmixed  with 
fear. 

"  I  —  I  came  this  way." 

"  But  why  ?  I  know  it  can't  have  been  accidental, 
your  coming  to  such  a  place  as  this." 

"  It  was  not,  of  course.  I  came  because  I  was  in- 
terested in  the  shop-lifting  affair  that  occurred  at 
the  stores  this  afternoon,  and  thought  that  the  near- 
est police-station  would  be  the  place  where  I  was 
most  likely  to  get  further  information  about  it." 

"And  did  you?" 

He  hesitated. 

"  I  saw  you  come,"  he  said  presently,  in  a  low  voice ; 
"  and  I  saw  the  others.  I  saw  —  oh,  why  should  I 
tell  you?  You  know  all  about  it.  It's  horrible.  Of 
course  I  know  you  are  justified  in  saying  it  is  no 
business  of  mine;  but  still  I  hate  the  thought  of  it 
all.  And,  besides,  you  may  put  it,  if  you  like,  that 
it  is  merely  because  I'm  puzzled  and  curious,  and  want 
to  understand  it  all.  Why  did  you  pretend  you  were 
going  home,  when  you  were  coming  here?  Who  was 
the  man  who  beckoned  you  out  of  the  tea-shop,  and 
who  spoke  to  you  just  now?  I  want  to  know. all 
these  things,  and  you  may  say  it  is  merely  curiosity, 
if  you  choose." 

Miss  Davison  was  sitting  back,  closing  her  eyes 


THE  DAZZLING 

wearily,  as  if  she  scarcely  heard  and  did  not  at  all 
care  what  he  was  saying.  When  he  had  finished 
speaking  she  made  no  attempt  to  answer  him,  did 
not  even  open  her  eyes.  There  was  a  long  pause. 
Then  he  said  — 

"  Why  don't  you  answer  my  questions  ?  Is  it  be- 
cause you  can't,  or  because  you  don't  care  what  people 
think?" 

Then  she  opened  her  eyes,  with  an  expression  of 
helpless  boredom. 

"  Why  should  I  answer  you  ?  What  right  have  you 
to  question  me?  If  I  choose  to  say  I  am  going  home, 
you  should  be  satisfied.  And  if  you  follow  me,  as 
you  suppose,  and  find  I  have  not  gone  home,  you 
should  shrug  you  shoulders,  and  tell  yourself  that  it 
it  no  affair  of  yours.  As  for  what  you  saw  to-night, 
what  did  it  amount  to?  You  saw  me  go  into  the 
police-station  —  and  you  saw  me  go  out  of  it.  Is  it 
absolutely  necessary  for  me  to  report  the  fact  to  you, 
if  I  get  my  pocket  picked?  " 

"  Of  course  not.  But  —  the  change  in  your  dress 
was  singular ! " 

"  I  don't  think  I'm  called  upon  to  explain  that ; 
but  you  can  know  if  you  like.  I  did  not  wish  to 
be  recognized,  as  I  went  in,  and  so  I  borrowed  some 
clothes  that,  as  I  supposed,  effectually  disguised  me." 
She  turned  to  him  fiercely  again.  "  Surely  your  ill- 
natured  suspicions  ought  to  be  set  at  rest,  since  you 
saw  that  I  came  out  as  freely  as  I  went  in ! " 


MISS  DAVISON  113 

"  I  said  nothing  about  suspicions ;  but  I  have  some- 
thing to  tell  you.  I  found  your  sister  at  Lady  Jen- 
nings' house,  and  she  had  come  with  a  strange  mes- 
sage." 

Foreseeing  bad  news  of  some  kind,  Miss  Davison 
changed  her  languid,  listless  attitude,  and  sitting  up, 
looked  at  him  apprehensively. 

"  Well,  well,  go  on.  Do  you  know  what  brought 
her?  " 

"  Yes.  I'm  very  sorry,  very  sorry  indeed  to  have 
to  worry  you  with  more  anxieties  when  you  are  tired. 
But  you  had  better  be  prepared  to  find  both  your 
sister  and  Lady  Jennings  rather  puzzled." 

"  Oh,  go  on,  go  on,"  said  Miss  Davison  impatiently. 

"  It  seems  that  a  gentleman  called  at  Richmond  — 
at  the  school  —  yesterday,  I  think — " 

He  had  got  no  further  when  he  saw  by  the  sudden 
change  which  came  over  her  face  that  Miss  Davison's 
listlessness  was  entirely  gone.  She  was  alert,  keen, 
desperately  interested  at  once.  He  went  on  - 

"  This  gentleman  said  he  was  an  old  friend  of  your 
father's,  and  that  he  had  been  in  the  army  himself. 
But  the  singular  part  of  the  visit  was  that  he  did  not 
give  his  name." 

"  Very  singular,  indeed,"  said  Miss  Davison. 

But  though  her  outward  tranquillity  was  perfect, 
it  did  not  deceive  Gerard. 

"  Miss  Graham  thought  you  and  Lady  Jennings 
ought  to  know  about  the  visit,  because  he  asked  a 


114.  THE  DAZZLING 

good  many  questions  about  you.  He  was,  I  under- 
stand, a  man  past  middle  age,  with  an  upright  figure 
and  a  perfectly  white  mustache." 

He  saw  at  once  that  Miss  Davison  recognized  the 
description,  although  she  raised  her  eyebrows  and 
said  — 

"  Indeed !  I  suppose  he  was  an  old  friend  of  my 
father's,  and  that  it  was  only  a  whim  to  hide  his 
name.  It's  absurd  of  Miss  Graham  to  make  so  much 
fuss  about  the  matter.  If  it  had  been  anyone  with- 
out any  knowledge  of  us,  who  wanted  to  scrape  ac- 
quaintance with  Lilian,  you  may  be  sure  he  would 
have  given  some  name,  even  if  it  had  not  been  his  own. 
People  who  have  anything  to  be  ashamed  of  don't  do 
eccentric  things." 

The  reasoning  was  admirable,  and  Gerard  bowed 
his  head  in  assent.  But  for  all  of  that  he  knew  that 
the  information  had  thrown  Rachel  into  a  state  of 
deadly  fear,  and  that  she  was  worrying  herself  with 
a  new  and  unexpected  anxiety. 

For  a  long  time  neither  spoke,  and  it  was  not 
until  the  cab  had  turned  into  Sloane  Street,  and  they 
were  quite  near  to  Lady  Jennings'  house  that  Miss 
Davison  turned  suddenly  to  him  again. 

"  You  pretend  to  admire  me,  don't  you  ?  "  she 
asked  sharply. 

"  No.     I  don't  pretend,  Miss  Davison." 

"  Well,  you  admire  me,  and  you  take  an  interest 
in  me,  if  only  because  you  look  upon  me  as  a 


MISS  DAVISON  115 

thorough,  if  rather  clumsy  appropriator  of  other 
people's  property." 

"  You  have  no  right  to  say  that.  You  know  it's 
not  true." 

"  Well,  whatever  your  motive  may  be,  I  want  you, 
in  consideration  of  this  admiration,  this  interest, 
to  make  me  a  promise.  Will  you  give  me  your  word 
that  you  will  cease  this  persecution  of  me,  that  you 
will  take  it  for  granted  I  have  my  own  reasons  for 
behaving  as  I  do,  and  that,  if  I  am  a  criminal,  I  shall 
be  punished  in  due  course,  and  justice  will  be  satis- 
fied? And  will  you,  in  addition  to  all  this,  promise 
me  that  you  will  say  nothing  to  anybody  about  me  or 
my  doings,  that  you  will  try  to  consider  me  as  un- 
known to  you,  that  you  will,  in  short,  not  only  give  up 
my  acquaintance,  but  behave  exactly  as  if  I  had  never 
existed?  Listen,  Mr.  Buckland.  I  know  you  to  be 
an  honorable  man,  and  I  believe  you  to  be  a  chivalrous 
one.  Won't  you,  at  my  earnest  request,  leave  justice 
to  take  its  course  upon  me  without  your  interference, 
and  without  your  knowledge,  and  leave  me  to  be 
dealt  with  in  the  natural  course  of  things  as  I  de- 
serve?" 

"  Why  don't  you  explain  ?  I'm  sure  you  could  if 
you  wished.  I  won't  believe  you  are  guilty  of  a 
course  of  despicable  crimes  — " 

"  It's  absolutely  immaterial  to  me  whether  you  be- 
lieve that  or  not,"  retorted  Miss  Davison,  cutting  him 
short  with  superb  disdain.  "  I  don't  ask  you  to  be- 


116  THE  DAZZLING 

lieve  Pm  innocent:  it's  not  the  adjective  most  ap- 
plicable to  me.  All  I  ask  is  that  you  should  leave  me 
alone,  and  that,  as  you  have  seen  that  the  police  have 
their  eye  upon  me,  you  should  take  it  for  granted  that 
they  know  what  I'm  about,  and  that,  when  they  have 
proof  enough,  they  will  arrest  me,  bring  me  to  justice, 
and  punish  me  as  I  deserve." 

"  But  I  can't  believe  this  —  I  can't  believe  the  evi- 
dence of  my  own  eyes !  " 

She  laughed  lightly,  having  quite  recovered  her 
self-possession,  though  she  still  looked  pitifully  pale 
and  drawn. 

"  Why  not?  I  don't  wish  you  to.  believe  anything 
else.  Only  —  be  quite  sure  that  your  eyes  see  aright, 
Mr.  Buckland,  and  that  you  don't  sometimes  see 
more  than  there  is  to  be  seen.  Now  we  are  at  Lady 
Jennings'.  Are  you  coming  in?  " 

There  was  no  invitation  in  her  look  or  tone. 

"  No,"  said  Gerard  shortly.  "  It  is  too  late.  Be- 
sides, I've  been  there  already  this  evening." 

"  And  your  promise  ?  " 

"  I  shall  not  give  you  any  promise." 

He  spoke  with  quiet  resolution,  but  without  menace 
of  any  sort. 

Miss  Davison  looked  grave. 

"  You  mean  to  go  on  with  this  persecution?  You 
mean  to  follow  me  about,  to  insult  me  by  your 
suspicions  — " 

"  You  told  me  you  did  not  care  what  I  thought. 


MISS  DAVISON  117 

How  then  can  any  suspicions  I  may  have  be  in- 
sulting? " 

"  Oh,  don't  let  us  quibble,"  said  she  impatiently. 
"  I  ask  you  to  leave  me  alone.  I  wish  to  drop  your 
acquaintance,  but  to  do  it  amicably  and  without  any 
ill-will.  Or,  if  you  won't  do  that,  I  ask  you  to  bring 
specific  charges  against  me,  or  even  to  give  informa- 
tion about  me  to  the  police." 

"  Miss  Davison ! " 

"  Oh,  I'm  quite  prepared  for  you  to  do  that.  Then 
I  should  have  something  definite  to  meet,  I  should 
understand  your  position.  But  that  you,  without 
any  right  to  follow  me  about  and  persecute  me,  with- 
out any  proof  that  I  have  ever  done  anything,  dis- 
graceful or  unlawful,  should  keep  watch  over  my 
movements  and  spy  upon  my  actions,  should  pay  un- 
expected calls  upon  my  friends  and  relations,  and 
appear  to  be  always  at  hand  when  anything  unusual 
takes  place  in  my  family,  I  say  it  is  infamous,  in- 
tolerable. I  won't  put  up  with  it,  and  I  insist  that 
you  shall  put  an  end  to  this  persecution.  Now  — 
promise." 

"  I  refuse  to  promise,"  said  Gerard  stubbornly. 

The  answer,  though  she  might  have  expected,  it, 
seemed  to  disconcert  her.  She  appeared  to  have 
thought  that  her  determination,  her  cold,  proud  man- 
ner, her  lofty  indignation,  would  have  had  the  effect 
of  reducing  him  to  submission  to  her  will.  To  find  him 
stubborn  still  surprised  and  perplexed  her.  They  had 


118  THE  DAZZLING 

reached  Lady  Jennings'  house,  and  the  cab  stopped. 
Gerard  got  out.  Then  Miss  Davison,  instead  of  get- 
ting out  immediately  and  sweeping  past  him  haughtily 
into  the  house,  as  he  was  prepared  for  her  to  do,  sat 
still  a  moment,  and  suddenly  threw  at  him  a  glance 
in  which  he  read  a  thousand  tilings  that  in  a  moment 
altered  the  opinion  of  her  which  her  words  would  have 
formed.  Instead  of  looking  fierce,  indignant,  cold, 
hard,  angry,  and  disdainful,  she  involuntarily  let  him 
see  in  her  beautiful  dark  eyes,  just  for  one  short 
moment,  the  look  which  belied  all  the  rest,  the  look 
of  womanly  gratitude  and  satisfaction  which  told  that, 
mysterious  as  was  her  conduct,  persistently  unreason- 
able as  was  her  attitude,  and  incensed  as  she  had  ap- 
peared to  be  by  his  obstinacy,  she  was  at  heart 
touched  and  melted  by  his  pertinacious  loyalty. 

Gerard  started  forward,  but  before  he  could  speak, 
Miss  Davison,  recollecting  herself,  sprang  out  of  the 
cab,  and  ran  up  the  steps  to  the  house  without  a 
word  or  a  look  of  farewell. 

Gerard  watched  her  without  daring  to  follow  her, 
with  his  heart  and  brain  on  fire. 

The  door  opened  quickly,  and  she  disappeared  into 
the  house,  and  the  footman  came  out  to  pay  the  cab- 
man. But  Gerard  had  already  done  that,  and  begun 
to  walk  away. 

He  threw  one  glance  up  at  the  window  of  the  din- 
ing-room as  he  went.  The  lights  were  lowered,  and 
the  blind  was  drawn  up  to  let  the  cool  night  air  in 


MISS  DAVISON  119 

through  the  open  window.  And  between  the  curtains, 
standing  immovable,  he  saw  the  figure  of  Miss  Davi- 
son,  and  knew  that  she  was  watching  him,  and  won- 
dered what  she  was  thinking. 

Remembering  that  last  look  of  hers,  in  which  the 
soul  of  the  woman,  grateful  for  admiration,  grateful 
for  love,  had  seemed  to  shine  out  upon  him,  he  could 
not  help  the  belief  that  she  was  thinking  —  and 
thinking  kindly  —  of  him. 


CHAPTER   X 

Now  Gerard  Buckland,  although  he  was  very  much 
in  love,  was  not  a  fool.  And  it  was  not  necessary  to 
consider  very  deeply  the  facts  connected  with  the 
brilliant  Rachel  Davison's  existence  to  feel  quite  cer- 
tain that,  however  handsome  and  however  attractive 
she  might  be,  it  was  the  height  of  folly  to  lose  one's 
heart  to  a  woman  of  whom  so  much  to  her  disadvan- 
tage was  known  to  him. 

Look  at  the  incidents  of  the  day  in  whatever  way 
he  might,  it  was  impossible  to  escape  from  the  con- 
clusion that  Miss  Davison's  share  in  them  was  one 
inconsistent  with  that  innocence  which,  as  she  herself 
acknowledged,  was  not  one  of  her  most  conspicuous 
qualities. 

That  was  the  worst  of  it,  that  she  did  not  deny  the 
mystery  about  her,  but  challenged  him  to  find  it  out 
if  he  could.  She  said  in  effect  that  she  chose  to  go 
her  own  way,  that  her  way  was  one  of  which  he  would 
not  approve,  and  that  she  did  not  care  what  he 
thought.  She  meant  to  follow  her  own  inclination, 
and  she  was  tired  of  his  pursuit,  and,  desired  him  to 
leave  her  alone  for  the  future. 

He  on  his  side  had  made  no  pretense  of  hiding  the 
120 


THE  DAZZLING  MISS  DAVISON 

fact  that  he  did  not  mean  to  do  so,  and  while  more 
bewildered  than  ever  by  what  he  had  seen  and  heard 
that  day,  he  maintained  his  determination  to  try  every 
means  in  his  power  to  get  at  the  root  of  the  mystery, 
and  to  find  out  the  secret  which  was  poisoning  her 
life. 

For  that  Rachel  was  unhappy  he  was  sure.  He 
remembered  her  face  as  he  had  first  seen  it  a  year 
ago  at  the  Aldingtons'  house,  how  bright  her  eyes 
were,  how  ringing  her  voice  was.  Now,  although  she 
was  handsomer  than  ever  in  his  eyes,  with  that  sort 
of  suggestion  of  thought  and  care  underlying  her 
beauty,  which  made  it  pathetic  and  haunting,  now 
that  the  outline  of  her  face  had  sharpened  and  grown 
more  refined  than  ever,  there  was  a  look  in  her  face 
which  had  never  been  in  it  before,  a  sort  of  defiant 
expression,  as  if  she  had  made  up  her  mind  to  a  cer- 
tain distasteful  course  of  action,  and  meant  to  per- 
severe in  it  in  spite  of  everything. 

Gerard  was  aware  that  this  view  of  the  change  in 
the  beauty  might  be  a  somewhat  fanciful  one;  but 
fancy  is  generally  very  busy  in  the  brain  of  a  young 
man  in  love,  and  that  he  was  still  in  love  with  Rachel 
Davison  in  the  face  of  all  he  knew  and  all  that  he  sus- 
pected, he  had  to  acknowledge. 

Was  she  a  thief?  That  he  would  not  believe.  Was 
she  a  kleptomaniac?  That  was  even  more  difficult  to 
admit,  since  it  was  plain  that,  if  kleptomania  were 
a  disease,  it  could  not  pay,  whereas  the  occupation 


THE  DAZZLING 

followed  by  Rachel  certainly  appeared  to  pay  very 
well. 

If  she  had  really  been  the  heroine  of  the  scene  at 
the  stores  that  day,  she  must,  he  knew,  have  found 
someone  ready  to  stand  by  her,  and  to  tell  some  story 
which  found  acceptance  in  the  eyes  of  the  persons  con- 
cerned in  the  charge,  and  saved  her  from  prosecu- 
tion. 

For  it  was  impossible  to  believe  that,  worried  and 
worn  out  as  she  was  when  he  left  her,  she  would  not 
have  been  infinitely  more  distressed  if  she  had  known 
that  a  police  prosecution  was  hanging  over  her. 

Who  was  the  man  who  had  beckoned  her  out  of  the 
tea-shop,  who  had  accompanied  her  to  the  police- 
station,  and  put  her  into  the  cab  afterwards? 

That  was  the  one  question,  Gerard  felt,  upon  which 
the  whole  mystery  hinged.  And  he  was  conscious, 
absurd  as  he  felt  the  sensation  to  be,  that  he  was  not 
only  curious  concerning  that  important  personage, 
but  actually  jealous  of  him. 

Was  she  in  the  power  of  some  man  who  exercised 
over  her  an  overwhelming  and  sinister  influence  ?  Was 
she  under  the  power  of  hypnotic  suggestion  ? 

He  could  not  but  feel  sure  that  the  man  he  had  so 
dimly  seen  would  prove  to  have  an  important  bearing 
upon  the  matter,  and  made  up  his  mind  that,  at  all 
hazards,  he  would  find  out  who  he  was. 

If  it  should  prove  to  be  the  case  that  she  herself 


MISS  DAVISON  123 

was  only  a  more  or  less  helpless  instrument  in  the 
hands  of  a  designing  and  unscrupulous  man,  then  he 
felt  that  her  position  instead  of  being  a  guilty  and 
infamous  one,  was  pitiful  in  the  extreme. 

But  the  weak  point  in  this  argument  was  the  fact 
that  Miss  Davison  seemed  to  be,  of  all  persons  in 
the  world,  the  least  likely  to  be  made  a  victim  in  the 
way  suggested.  While  essentially  feminine,  she  was 
high-spirited,  active-minded,  full  of  resolution  and 
initiative,  and  wholly  unlike  the  gentle,  meek,  lym- 
phatic people  who  are  the  most  readily  subjected  to 
such  experiments. 

But  then  he  had  heard  that  highly  strung  nervous 
temperaments  are  also  among  the  subjects  of  experi- 
ments of  one  mind  upon  another;  and  whether  Miss 
Davison  could  be  made  submissive  to  the  will  of  an- 
other depended  upon  the  strength  of  will  in  the  person 
who  obtained  an  influence  over  her. 

This,  then,  was  now  Gerard's  chief  object:  to  find 
out  and  learn  all  he  could  about  the  mysterious  man. 

If  the  girl  had  been,  by  artful  plans,  entrapped 
into  acting  as  one  of  a  gang  of  expert  thieves  —  and, 
horrible  as  this  suggestion  was,  Gerard  felt  that  it 
was  one  that  had  to  be  entertained  —  then  it  was  the 
leader  of  the  gang  for  whom  he  must  look.  And  it 
was  scarcely  likely  that  this  leader  should  have  trusted 
himself  inside  the  police-station.  He  thought,  there- 
fore, that  he  might  dismiss  the  notion  that  the  well- 


124  THE  DAZZLING 

dressed,  young-looking  man  whom  he  had  but  half 
seen,  could  be  the  inspirer  and  fountain-head  of  the 
organization,  if  organization  there  were.  Rather, 
Gerard  thought,  would  he  be  a  man  set  to  act  as  a 
scout  and  spy,  and  to  divert  suspicion  from  his  com- 
panions by  posing  as  a  friend  who  could  answer  for 
their  character. 

Gerard,  true  to  his  resolution  not  to  let  the  matter 
drop,  set  about  devising  an  excuse  for  calling  upon 
Lady  Jennings  the  very  next  day ;  but  he  was  saved 
that  trouble,  for  on  the  following  morning  he  found 
on  his  breakfast-table  a  note  from  the  old  lady  asking 
him  to  luncheon  that  day. 

Delighted  at  this  opportunity  of  seeing  Rachel 
again,  Gerard  duly  presented  himself  at  a  quarter 
past  one  at  the  pretty  little  house,  where  he  found 
Lady  Jennings  by  herself  in  the  drawing-room. 

She  was  not  looking  her  usual  serene  self,  but  was 
flushed  and  irritable,  although  she  greeted  the  young 
man  with  the  kindness  she  had  always  shown  him. 

Gerard  soon  ventured  to  ask  whether  Lilian  had 
gone  back  to  school  the  previous  night,  and  Lady 
Jennings  frowned,  though  not  ill-temperedly. 

"  No;  I  kept  her  here  till  this  morning,  and  took 
her  back  myself  as  far  as  the  station,"  she  said. 
"  She  was  in  great  distress,  poor  child,  because  her 
sister  had  been  angry  with  her  for  coming.  But  of 
course  she  was  quite  right  to  come,"  added  the  old 
lady  tartly. 


MISS  DAVISON  125 

"  Yes,  and  it  was  Miss  Graham  who  sent  her,  I 
understand?  " 

"  Yes.  Rachel  has  no  right  to  be  angry  about  it, 
but  she  is  an  odd  girl,  and  full  of  caprices.  I  wish 
to  know  where  you  met  her  last  night.  I  saw  that 
you  came  back  in  the  cab  with  her,  but  I  cannot  find 
out  from  her  where  she  had  been  or  what  she  had  been 
doing.  Now  I  quite  understand  that  she  is  free  to 
go  about  by  herself,  and  to  transact  her  business 
without  interference ;  but  as  she  is  living  in  my  house, 
and  I  feel,  as  it  were,  answerable  for  her,  I  think  she 
ought  to  show  me  a  little  more  consideration  than  she 
does,  and  that  my  curiosity  when  she  misses  the  din- 
ner-hour and  has  no  very  clear  explanation  to  give 
is  only  natural.  She  says  she  was  detained  by  busi- 
ness, and  then  she  leaves  her  cloak  in  a  tea-shop,  and 
presently  she  returns  home  with  you.  So  that  you 
must  have  met  her  twice  yesterday,  Mr.  Buckland, 
and  can,  I  hope,  satisfy  what  I  am  sure  you  will  not 
think  idle  curiosity." 

The  old  lady,  having  talked  herself  out  of  breath 
while  Gerard  was  thus  given  an  opportunity  of  con- 
sidering a  diplomatic  reply,  sat  back  and  paused, 
looking  at  him  with  pursed-up  lips,  which  he  took 
as  a  sort  of  warning  that  she  expected  a  straightfor- 
ward and  full  answer. 

He  did  not  want  to  tell  too  much,  or  to  put  her  on 
the  track  of  Rachel's  real  movements  by  saying  that 
he  had  met  her  at  the  stores. 


126  THE  DAZZLING 

But  at  the  same  time  he  felt  that  he  might  make 
worse  mischief  if  he  were  to  say  something  which 
Rachel  herself  would  contradict. 

So  he  said  diplomatically  — 

"  I  met  her  casually,  in  the  first  place,  near  enough 
to  a  tea-shop  in  Westminster  for  us  to  go  straight 
in  there,  as  she  looked  tired." 

"  Westminster !  "  echoed  Lady  Jennings  dryly,  and 
he  felt  that  he  had  probably  "  put  his  foot  in  it " 
already.  "  What  was  she  doing  there,  I  wonder? 
And  where " —  she  turned  upon  him  suddenly  — 
"  did  you  meet  her  the  second  time?  " 

What  on  earth  was  he  to  say?  The  truth  was 
not  to  be  thought  of.  He  certainly  could  not  tell 
her  that  he  saw  Rachel  going  into  a  police-station. 

She  perceived  his  hesitancy  and  spoke  sharply  — 

"  Of  course,  if  it's  a  secret,  I  have  no  business  to 
ask,  I  suppose." 

"  You  have  every  right,  Lady  Jennings,  to  know 
all  about  Miss  Davison's  movements,"  answered  he 
frankly ;  "  but  as  I  feel  that  you  are  asking  me  ques- 
tions to  which  she  herself  has  given  you  an  insufficient 
answer,  I  feel,  don't  you  see,  as  if  I  would  rather  not 
say  more  than  this:  that  I  met  her  not  far  from 
where  I  had  left  her  before,  and  that  I  understood 
she  had  been  detained  on  business  connected  with 
her  work." 

He  felt,  as  he  said  this,  that  he  wished  it  were 
not  so  true  as  he  feared  it  was. 


MISS  DAVISON 

Lady  Jennings  half  smiled.  She  approved  of  his 
attitude,  but  remained  unsatisfied  with  that  of  her 
protege. 

"  She  works  too  hard,"  said  Gerard  suddenly  after 
a  silence.  "  I  have  noticed  a  great  change  in  her 
looks.  Her  face  now  has  a  worried  expression.  I 
think  she  wants  a  long  rest,  and  I  wish  she  could  take 
it;  but  I  suppose  while  she  is  earning  so  much  it's 
impossible." 

The  old  lady  turned  upon  him  with  a  strange  look. 

"  Yes,  I  suppose  she  does  earn  a  great  deal,"  she 
said  rather  dryly.  "  She  seems  to  spend  a  great  deal, 
at  any  rate." 

"  Yes.  If  she  supports  her  mother  and  sister," 
said  Gerard  valiantly. 

But  the  old  lady  shrugged  her  shoulders. 

"  Oh,  one  may  make  too  much  of  that,"  she  said 
quickly.  "  She  spends  money  on  herself  too.  She 
dresses  magnificently.  It  wouldn't  have  been  thought 
proper  when  I  was  young,  for  an  unmarried  girl  to 
spend  so  much  on  her  clothes.  However,  things  are 
altered  now,  I  suppose !  " 

"  She  dresses  in  excellent  taste,"  observed  Gerard. 

"  Oh  yes.  You  take  a  great  interest  in  Rachel, 
Mr.  Buckland?" 

The  words  were  a  challenge,  and  Gerard  took  it 
up  promptly. 

"  Greater  than  I  have  ever  in  my  life  taken  in  a 
woman  before,"  said  he. 


128  THE  DAZZLING 

She  shrugged  her  shoulders  slightly. 

*'  If  I  took  an  interest  in  any  man  who  was  in 
want  of  a  wife,"  said  she,  "  and  who  thought  of  look- 
ing in  this  direction,  I  should  recommend  him  to 
choose  the  younger  sister  rather  than  the  elder.  Of 
course  she's  very  young,  but  she's  a  sweet  girl,  and 
if  she  has  less  character,  what  she  has  is  more  amiable 
than  her  sister's." 

Lady  Jennings  spoke  with  as  much  ill-nature  as  it 
was  in  her  to  show,  though  that  was  not  very  much. 
Gerard,  however,  took  fire  and  made  a  brave  stand 
for  his  own  choice. 

"  Miss  Lilian  is  a  lovely  girl,"  he  said,  "  but  pretty 
and  charming  as  she  is,  I  confess  that  a  woman  of 
more  character  has  still  greater  charm  for  me.  Now 
Miss  Rachel  has  not  only  her  beauty,  but  she  has 
something  besides,  some  soul,  some  capacity  for  deep 
feeling  which,  while  no  doubt  it  makes  her  miserable 
sometimes,  makes  her  interesting  too." 

"  She  can  be  miserable  no  doubt,  as  well  as  other 
people,"  said  Lady  Jennings  rather  dryly ;  "  but  I 
think  she  has  probably  a  still  greater  capacity  for 
making  others  miserable." 

"  Certainly  she  would  make  a  man  miserable  if  he 
were  head  over  ears  in  love  with  her  and  she  didn't 
care  for  him,"  replied  Gerard  quickly ;  "  for  he  would 
never  be  likely  to  find  any  girl  to  take  exactly  the 
place  she  had  made  for  herself  in  his  heart." 

Before  he  had  finished  speaking  he  saw  a  look  on 


MISS  DAVISON  129 

Lady  Jennings'  face  which  made  him  glance  behind 
him,  and  he  saw  that  Rachel  herself  had  come  in 
quietly  while  they  were  talking.  It  was  clear  that 
she  had  heard  his  words  and  understood  them,  and 
her  pale  face,  which  was  very  grave,  lighted  up  a 
little. 

She  shook  hands  with  him,  and  exerted  herself  to 
be  lively  and  entertaining,  and  to  dispel  that  slight 
feeling  of  resentment  towards  her  which  she  knew 
that  her  erratic  ways  had  caused  her  protectress  to 
feel. 

They  went  downstairs  together,  and  she  found  an 
opportunity  to  ask  him  what  he  had  said  in  answer 
to  the  questions  about  the  day  before,  which  she 
knew  Lady  Jennings  must  have  put.  She  seemed 
satisfied  and  even  grateful  when  he  told  her,  and  from 
that  moment  her  spirits  rose,  so  that  she  was  the 
life  and  soul  of  the  little  party  at  luncheon. 

When  they  rose  from  the  table  they  all  drifted 
towards  the  window,  where  Lady  Jennings  kept  her 
little  birds  in  a  large  aviary  cage.  Rachel  was  still 
very  gay,  and  Lady  Jennings'  resentment  had  soft- 
ened under  the  influence  of  the  girl's  exertions  to 
amuse  her. 

Miss  Davison  was  laughing  and  talking  brightly 
when  Gerard  suddenly  perceived  a  strange  change  in 
her,  the  brightness  dying  out  of  her  eyes  and  the 
color  out  of  her  lips. 

Glancing   out   of   the    window    in    search    of   the 


130  THE  DAZZLING  MISS  DAVISON 

cause,  Gerard  saw  that  a  gentleman  of  the  middle 
height,  erect  and  of  military  appearance,  with  a 
snow-white  mustache,  was  passing  slowly,  and  look- 
ing up  at  the  window  as  he  did  so;  and  he  knew  it 
was  the  visitor  to  Lilian  who  would  not  give  his  name. 


CHAPTER  XI 

GERARD  glanced  at  Rachel,  but  she  was  too  much 
occupied  with  her  own  thoughts,  as  she  stealthily 
watched  the  retreating  figure  of  the  erect,  middle- 
aged  gentleman  with  the  snow-white  mustache,  to 
pay  any  attention  to  him,  or  to  remark  the  shrewd- 
ness with  which  his .  eye  followed  the  direction  of 
hers. 

The  fact  was  that  one  glance  at  the  stranger  out- 
side on  the  pavement,  and  then  another  at  Rachel, 
had  been  enough  to  assure  Gerard  that  he  had  at  last 
found  the  key  to  the  mystery  which  surrounded  the 
actions  of  Miss  Davison. 

True,  it  was  a  key  which  he  could  not  yet  make 
use  of,  but  he  was  none  the  less  confident  that  he  now 
had  it  in  his  hands. 

The  man  in  the  white  mustache,  whom  Miss  Da- 
vison at  once  recognized,  and  whose  appearance  filled 
her  with  evident  consternation,  was,  Gerard  felt  sure, 
the  leader  of  the  organization  which  was  using  the  un- 
happy girl  for  its  own  illegal  ends,  and  his  first  care, 
on  noting  this,  was  to  hide  every  sign  that  he  had  seen 
anything. 

131 


132  THE  DAZZLING 

So  he  turned  to  Lady  Jennings  to  give  Rachel  an 
opportunity  of  recovering  her  composure. 

He  was  still  talking  to  the  old  lady  when  Rachel, 
taking  out  her  watch,  said  — 

"  Oh,  I  forgot  to  tell  you,  Lady  Jennings,  that  I 
have  to  be  in  the  city  again  this  afternoon  by  four 
o'clock.  I  shall  only  just  manage  it  if  I  run  away 
now.  Do,  do  forgive  me  for  having  forgotten  to  tell 
you  before." 

But  Lady  Jennings  was  in  no  forgiving  mood. 
The  news  thus  suddenly  sprung  upon  her  trans- 
formed her  at  once  from  an  angel  of  mildness  into 
an  embodiment  of  just  indignation.  Drawing  her- 
self up,  she  said  — 

"  This  is  the  third  time  during  the  last  few  days 
that  you  have  done  this,  Rachel,  disappointed  me  at 
the  very  moment  when  we  have  been  going  out  to- 
gether! I  can't  understand  how  you  can  make  ap- 
pointments and  forget  them  in  this  manner.  Even 
if  I,  who  don't  pretend  to  be  a  woman  of  business, 
were  to  do  so,  I  should  soon  be  in  a  state  of  hopeless 
confusion  as  to  what  I  had  to  do  and  where  I  had  to 

go." 

"  I'm  very  sorry,"  said  Rachel  meekly.  But  even 
as  she  spoke  she  was  walking  to  the  door.  "  But 
really  you  don't  know  how  difficult  it  is  to  reconcile 
the  two  conditions,  and  to  be  a  woman  of  business 
and  a  woman  of  leisure  at  the  same  time." 

She  went  out  of  the  room  without  giving  time  for 


'MISS  D  AVI  SON  133 

any  more  discussion,  and  Lady  'Jennings  turned  to 
Gerard  indignantly.  The  young  man  had  a  sympa- 
thetic manner,  and  old  ladies  always  found  in  him  an 
interested  hearer. 

"  Isn't  it  too  bad  of  that  girl,"  she  asked,  "  to 
treat  me  in  this  manner?  I  make  every  allowance  for 
the  fact  that  she  is  a  busy  woman,  and  that  business 
appointments  have  to  take  precedence  of  social  en- 
gagements with  her.  But  when  she  has  expressly 
asked  me  to  take  her  to  call  on  certain  people,  and  at 
the  last  moment  she  throws  me  over  like  this,  I  really 
feel  that  I  have  just  reason  to  complain.  One  can't 
treat  a  duchess  in  this  way,  whatever  one's  position 
may  be,  and  it  was  to  meet  the  Duchess  of  Beach- 
borough  that  I  was  going  to  take  her  this  afternoon." 

"  Don't  you  think,"  suggested  Gerard  gently, 
"  that  it  is  because  she  is  overworked  that  she  is 
rather  erratic  in  her  ways  just  now?  It  seems  to  me 
that  she  looks  paler  every  time  I  see  her,  and  that 
her  face  has  grown  very  much  sharper  in  outline  even 
during  the  past  few  weeks.  Couldn't  you  persuade 
her  to  take  a  rest  from  business,  and  to  go  away  for 
a  thorough  change?  I  feel  it  would  do  her  all  the 
good  in  the  world.  Six  months  abroad,  for  instance, 
might  make  a  new  woman  of  her." 

The  old  lady  shook  her  head. 

"  You  forget  her  circumstances,"  said  she.  "  How 
can  a  woman  who  has  any  sort  of  business  connection, 
leave  her  work  for  six  months?  I  don't  know  much 


134  THE  DAZZLING 

about  these  things,  but  I  feel  sure  I  am  right  in  that." 

Gerard  knew  that  she  was,  and  found  it  hard  to 
continue  his  argument. 

"  At  least,"  he  suggested,  "  a  six  weeks'  holiday, 
then,  might  be  tried  with  advantage.  Don't  you 
think  so?" 

"  She  has  been  talking  of  taking  a  holiday,"  said 
Lady  Jennings  rather  coolly,  "  but  I  don't  want  her 
to  go  with  me.  I  want  a  little  rest  from  her  tiresome 
ways." 

"  Oh,  I'm  sorry  to  hear  you  say  that,"  urged 
Gerard  earnestly.  "  Feeling  the  interest  I  do  in  Miss 
Davison,  I  have  always  been  so  glad  to  think  that 
she  had  by  her  a  friend  so  judicious,  so  kind,  and  so 
considerate  as  you." 

"  Consideration  is  wasted  upon  a  girl  so  self- 
willed.  I  don't  mean  to  say  anything  against  her. 
No  doubt  if  she  were  not  headstrong  she  would  never 
have  done  anything  for  herself  or  her  people.  But 
I  confess  she  has  tried  my  patience  lately." 

*'  Why  doesn't  she  go  down  to  her  mother  for  a 
Kttle  while?" 

"  She  was  talking  of  going  away  with  her  and  with 
Lilian,"  said  the  old  lady ;  "  but  I  don't  know  whether 
she  has  decided  upon  anything.  She  seems  now  not 
to  know  her  own  mind  for  two  minutes  together." 

Gerard  felt  afraid  that  it  was  because  she  was  under 
the  control  of  a  mind  other  than  her  own,  and  was 
silent.  Lady  Jennings  sighed. 


MISS  D  AVI  SON  136 

"  However,"  she  said,  "  we  must  hope  it  is  as  you 
say,  and  that  a  holiday  of  some  sort  will  work  won- 
ders in  her.  I  wish  you,  who  appear  to  have  some  in- 
fluence with  her  — " 

"  Oh,  no,  no ;  I  wish  I  had ! "  interpolated  Gerard. 

"  I  wish  you  would  talk  to  her,  and  try  to  persuade 
her  to  be  more  reasonable.  You  might  show  her 
that  she  is  doing  herself  —  and  consequently  Lilian 
—  a  great  deal  of  harm  by  her  vagaries.  People 
won't  take  the  younger  sister  up,  as  Rachel  wants 
them  to  do,  if  they  find  the  elder  is  too  much  of  a 
handful." 

Gerard  was  dismayed  by  what  he  heard.  He  felt 
that  if  Lady  Jennings  were  to  throw  Rachel  over, 
the  girl  would  be  left  entirely  to  the  influence  of  those 
false  friends  who  must,  he  felt  sure,  be  already  poison- 
ing her  happiness  and  spoiling  her  life.  Ineffec- 
tual as  Lady  Jennings'  friendship  and  protection 
appeared  to  be  in  restraining  her  in  her  reckless 
course  of  conduct,  Gerard  clung  to  the  hope  that  a 
short  period  of  rest  might  bring  reflection,  and  that, 
as  long  as  her  best  friends  stood  by  her,  she  might 
at  least  be  saved  from  giving  herself  up  wholly  to 
the  bad  influences  which  were  at  work  upon  her, 
and  that  he  himself  might,  by  probing  the  mys- 
tery surrounding  her  to  the  very  bottom,  be  able 
to  save  her  from  her  dangerous  acquaintances,  by 
threatening  to  put  the  police  on  the  track  of  the 
gang. 


136  THE  DAZZLING 

"  I  will  talk  to  her,"  said  he,  in  a  low  voice ; 
"  though  I'm  afraid  it  won't  have  much  effect." 

"  She  likes  you  very  much,  I  know.  She  uses 
you  as  an  example  of  what  a  man  should  be,"  said 
Lady  Jennings. 

Gerard's  face  brightened  in  spite  of  himself. 

"  Does  she  really  ?  " 

"  Only  this  morning  she  did,  in  speaking  to  her 
sister.  Will  you,  Mr.  Buckland,  dine  with  us  to- 
morrow night,  and  see  what  you  can  do  with  her?  " 

"  I'm  afraid  I'm  engaged  to-morrow  night." 

"  What  night  can  you  come?  " 

"  I've  got  to  go  down  to  some  friends  on  the  river 
for  the  week  end.  That  will  take  me  up  to  Mon- 
day." 

"  And  this  is  Thursday.  Let  me  see.  How  will 
Wednesday  next  suit  you  ?  " 

"  I  should  be  delighted  to  come." 

Gerard  was  on  his  feet,  most  anxious  to  get  away, 
for  he  had  heard  the  door  shut  after  Rachel,  and  he 
was  determined  to  follow  her  and  to  witness,  if  pos- 
sible, her  meeting  with  the  man  of  the  white  mus- 
tache. He  shook  hands  with  his  hostess,  and  went 
away  with  the  proper  air  of  leisured  reluctance. 

But  when  once  he  was  outside,  he  went  up  the 
street  at  a  great  pace,  taking  it  for  granted  that 
Rachel,  who  was  no  longer  in  sight,  would  have  gone 
in  the  same  direction  as  the  stranger. 

He   slackened   his    pace   when   he   got   to    Sloane 


MISS  DAVISON  137 

Square,  and  taking  great  care  never  to  leave  the 
shelter  of  a  crowd,  a  matter  which  was  easy  enough 
at  that  time  in  the  afternoon,  he  looked  about  him 
in  all  directions  for  a  sign  of  either  the  white-haired 
man  or  Miss  Davison. 

And  at  last  he  caught  sight  of  them  both,  the 
man  a  little  in  front  of  the  girl,  making  their  way  to 
the  station. 

They  had  no  sooner  disappeared  than  Gerard 
crossed  the  road  hastily  in  pursuit,  and,  still  taking 
care  to  keep  himself  out  of  their  sight,  watched  them 
go  down  the  stairs ;  taking  a  ticket  himself,  he  fol- 
lowed them  down  to  the  platform,  where  they  were 
now  engrossed  in  conversation. 

Gerard  had  deliberately  set  himself  the  task  of 
getting  as  near  as  he  could  to  them  without  being 
seen,  in  order  to  overhear,  if  possible,  enough  of  their 
conversation  to  know  in  what  relation  these  two 
stood  to  each  other. 

And,  even  before  he  heard  a  word  they  were  say- 
ing, he  knew  by  what  he  saw  all  that  he  wanted  to 
know. 

For  the  white-haired  stranger,  who  was  a  hand- 
some, well-preserved  man  of  about  sixty  years  of  age 
or  perhaps  a  little  younger,  was  evidently  laying 
down  the  law  to  Miss  Davison,  quietly  but  emphatic- 
ally, speaking  in  such  a  low  voice  that  not  a  word 
he  uttered  went  beyond  her  ears,  but  so  effectively 
that  the  girl,  who  was  trembling  as  she  stood  with 


138  THE  DAZZLING 

bent  head  before  him,  listened  in  absolute  submis- 
sive silence  to  what  Gerard  felt  must  be  directions, 
commands. 

Not  until  their  train  came  in  with  the  usual  rattle 
and  roar,  and  the  hurrying  movement  among  the 
passengers  began,  did  the  white-haired  man  raise  his 
voice.  Then  Gerard,  from  behind  them,  as  they 
moved  towards  the  train,  caught  these  words  uttered 
by  Miss  Davison  in  a  tone  of  despair  — 

"  Won't  you  let  me  off?  Haven't  I  done 
enough?  " 

He  did  not  hear  the  answer,  but  he  heard  a  little 
faint  moan  from  the  girl,  which  told  him  that  her  re- 
quest had  been  refused.  Then  he  heard  the  man's 
voice,  as  he  whispered  something  quickly  into  the 
girl's  ear,  and,  raising  his  hat,  immediately  hurried 
on  to  a  smoking  carriage. 

Left  by  herself,  Miss  Davison  got  into  a  first-class 
compartment,  into  which  Gerard  followed  her.  She 
went  quickly  to  the  extreme  end  of  it,  and  sitting 
down  with  her  back  turned  towards  him,  affected 
to  be  reading  a  letter. 

But  he  knew  very  well  that  she  could  not  see,  that 
she  was  quietly  shedding  tears,  and  that,  having 
heard  him  get  in  without  guessing  who  he  was,  she 
had  used  the  pretense  of  the  letter  so  that,  bending 
over  it,  she  could  dry  her  eyes  furtively  without,  as 
she  believed,  being  observed. 


MISS  DAVISON  139 

The  train  started,  no  other  passengers  having  got 
in  with  them. 

They  stopped  at  the  next  station,  and  still  Rachel 
had  not  moved.  Gerard's  heart  bled  for  her.  He 
knew  that  she  was  miserable,  that  she  was  being 
coerced,  that  she  was  suffering  tortures,  which  must 
be  doubly  keen  to  a  woman  as  proud  as  she  was,  and 
that  she  was  in  such  a  position  that  she  could  not  go 
for  comfort  or  advice  to  any  of  her  friends. 

What  the  conditions  were  which  the  white-haired 
man  had  insisted  upon  with  her,  what  the  work  was 
that  he  commanded  her  to  do,  he  could  not,  of  course, 
tell.  But  that  there  was  something  distasteful  in  the 
work,  something  shocking,  terrible  to  her,  in  the  task 
he  had  insisted  upon  her  performing,  was  no  longer 
open  to  question. 

The  words  he  had  heard  her  utter  in  remonstrance 
to  the  man  still  rang  in  Gerard's  ears. 

"  Won't  you  let  me  off?  Haven't  I  done 
enough  ?  " 

What  was  it  that  she  had  done  already?  What 
was  it  that  he  now  wanted  her  to  do?  In  spite  of  all 
he  knew,  and  all  he  had  seen  and  heard,  in  spite  of  the 
suspicions  which  would  crop  up  at  every  point  of 
their  acquaintance,  concerning  the  mysterious  work 
upon  which  Miss  Davison  was  engaged,  Gerard  had 
never  ceased  to  ask  himself  whether  there  might  not 
be  some  possible  explanation  of  the  suspicious  cir- 


140  THE  DAZZLING 

cumstances,  some  more  favorable  interpretation  to  be 
put  upon  her  mysterious  actions,  than  the  obvious 
one  that  she  was  engaged  in  some  sort  of  criminal 
enterprise,  or  that  she  was  not  responsible  for  her 
actions. 

This  meeting  with  the  man  of  the  white  mustache 
seemed  to  make  the  latter  hypothesis  untenable. 
Kleptomaniacs  do  not  act  under  orders;  they  steal 
from  impulse  and  impulse  alone. 

Whereas  Rachel  was  plainly  under  orders,  acting 
against  her  own  will,  and  at  the  instigation  of  some- 
one with  a  will  stronger  than  her  own. 

It  was  utterly  incomprehensible  to  Gerard  how  a 
woman  of  Miss  Davison's  birth  and  breeding,  a 
woman  who  had  seemed  to  him  exceptionally  high- 
principled,  honest,  fearless,  and  strong-willed,  should 
so  far  have  stifled  all  the  natural  and  acquired  in- 
stincts and  principles  of  an  honorable  woman  as  to 
have  listened  to  the  suggestions  of  a  man  engaged 
in  some  sort  of  nefarious  enterprise. 

Was  the  theory  of  hypnotism  to  be  considered? 
Gerard  knew  very  little  about  the  subject,  but  had 
a  vague  idea  that  persons  under  hypnotic  influence, 
far  from  protesting,  as  he  had  heard  her  do,  against 
the  power  they  feel,  act  like  machines,  without 
strength  enough  to  protest  against  the  will  that 
makes  them  commit  acts  at  which,  were  they  free 
agents,  their  minds  might  well  revolt  in  horror  and 
dismay. 


MISS  DAY  I  SON  141 

His  heart  went  out  to  the  girl,  in  spite  of  all  that 
he  had  heard ;  and,  touched  to  the  quick  by  the  mis- 
ery which  he  knew  her  to  be  suffering,  he  suddenly 
left  his  seat,  placed  himself  near  her  on  the  opposite 
side  of  the  compartment,  and  said  in  a  low  earnest 
voice  — 

"  Miss  Davison,  what  is  troubling  you  ?  Won't 
you  speak  to  me  ?  " 

The  girl  started  back,  dashed  away  the  tears  which 
had  gathered  in  her  eyes,  and  sat  up  and  faced  him. 

"  Have  you  been  here  all  the  time,  watching  me, 
spying  on  me  again  ?  " 

Her  tone  was  not  passionate,  or  even  indignant. 
She  was  worn  out,  irritable,  impatient.  That  was 
all. 

"  I  got  in  when  you  got  in.  Yes,  call  it  spying  if 
you  like,  I  followed  you  from  Lady  Jennings'  house." 

"  Of  course,"  interrupted  she  impatiently.  "  I 
thought  I  had  slipped  away  without  your  seeing  me, 
but  I  might  have  known  you  were  too  clever  for  me. 
Pray,  what  made  you  come?  " 

She  had  dashed  away  her  tears,  sat  up,  and  tried 
to  resume  her  ordinary  manner.  She  was  evidently 
not  sure  how  much  he  knew,  and  was  trying  to 
"  bluff." 

Gerard  looked  down  and  answered  quietly.  He 
must  tell  her  all  he  knew,  in  the  hope  that  she  would 
then  admit  the  rest. 

"  I  came  because  I  knew  —  or  at  least  I  guessed 


142  THE  DAZZLING 

—  that  you  were  going  to  meet  someone,  someone 
whom  you  saw  from  the  window." 

She  flushed  with  surprise. 

"  You  have  keen  eyes ! "  she  said  sarcastically. 

She  might  mean  that  he  had  seen  more  than  there 
was  to  be  seen,  or  merely  that  she  admitted  there 
was  something  to  see  which  he  had  been  quick  to  no- 
tice. 

"  They  are  keen  where  you  are  concerned,  Miss 
Davison.  It  is  no  secret  to  you,  or  to  anybody  who 
knows  us,  that  whatever  concerns  you  is  of  the  deep- 
est interest  to  me." 

She  made  a  movement  as  if  she  would  have  an- 
swered him  in  the  same  tone  as  before,  with  sar- 
casm, with  coldness,  with  an  air  of  being  offended; 
but  before  she  could  utter  a  word,  she  glanced 
askance  at  him,  and  something  in  his  look  and  man- 
ner made  her  expression  change.  She  looked  down 
suddenly,  and  he  saw  her  lower  lip  quiver. 

"  I  do  wish  you  wouldn't,"  she  said  querulously, 
like  a  child.  "  Of  what  use  is  it  to  be  interested  in 
me,  considering  what  you  think?  " 

"  It's  too  late  for  me  to  ask  if  it's  of  any  use," 
said  he.  "  Besides,  isn't  it  just  possible  that  it  may 
be  of  use  —  to  you  —  to  know  that  there  is  some- 
one to  whom  you  could  go  if  you  were  in  a  difficulty, 
someone  who  knows  so  much  already  that  there 
would  be  little  harm  in  telling  him  the  rest  ?  " 

She  threw  a  frightened  glance  at  him. 


MISS  DAVISON  143 

"  You  know  nothing,"  she  said  sharply.  "  You 
may  guess  a  great  deal,  and  put  a  wrong  construc- 
tion upon  everything;  but  you  really  know  nothing 
whatever." 

He  hesitated  a  moment,  and  then  said  — 

"  I  know  that  you  are  in  some  way  in  the  power, 
or  under  the  influence  of  a  man  who  wishes  you  to 
do  things  against  which  you  revolt." 

It  was  evident  that,  whatever  she  might  pretend, 
Miss  Davison  was  startled  by  this  statement. 

"  How  do  you  know?  "  she  asked  abruptly. 

He  went  on,  without  answering  her  question  — 

"  And  that  you  have  protested,  and  protested  ap- 
parently in  vain,  against  his  suggestions,  or  orders." 

Then  she  understood,  and  did  not  pretend  to  mis- 
understand or  deny  any  longer  — 

"  You  have  been  eavesdropping,"  she  said  con- 
temptuously. 

"  I  would  not  scruple  to  do  anything  that  would 
lead  to  a  better  understanding  of  the  marvel  that 
makes  a  well-bred,  honorable  woman  do  things 
which  she  is  ashamed  of,  and  that  she  does  not  dare 
to  mention  to  her  family  and  friends,"  retorted 
Gerard  boldly. 

She  stared  at  him,  with  her  lips  parted,  her  eyes 
very  wide  open,  her  breast  heaving.  Both  were  in 
terrible  earnest. 

"  You  talk  nonsense,"  she  said  at  last  sharply. 
"  All  your  listening  and  spying  only  result  in  your 


144  THE  DAZZLING 

learning  half  the  truth;  and  if  you  were  wise,  not 
to  say  chivalrous,  you  would  take  it  for  granted 
that  you  were  mistaken  in  your  evil  thoughts  of  me, 
and  that  there  is  just  something  to  be  learned  which 
I  do  not  choose  to  tell  you,  and  which  you  have  no 
possible  right  to  know." 

He  looked  at  her  steadily. 

"  I  wish  I  could  believe  you,"  he  said.  "  I  wish 
to  Heaven  I  could.  But  it's  impossible  to  credit 
that  you,  a  young  girl,  should  have  secrets  from  all 
your  friends  and  relations  in  which  there  is  no 
harm." 

She  faltered  and  her  eyes  fell  under  his  gaze. 

"  Harm !  "  she  echoed,  in  a  hoarse  voice.  "  There 
are  different  degrees  of  harm.  What  one  person 
thinks  justifiable  may  shock  and  disgust  another 
person.  If  your  ideas  of  what  is  right  are  so  very 
lofty,  you  have  no  right  to  take  for  granted  that 
mine,  which  may  be  rather  lower,  are  degrading  and 
wholly  unjustifiable." 

"  I  take  nothing  for  granted.  I  only  see  that 
you  are  miserable  and  unhappy,  and  that  you  are 
so  because  you  are  acting  against  your  conscience 
at  the  bidding  of  a  person  whom  you  fear  and  whose 
influence  you  know  to  be  bad,"  retorted  Gerard. 

She  made  an  impatient  movement. 

"  Why  begin  the  old  arguments  all  over  again  ?  " 
she  said  shortly.  "  Why  don't  you  see  for  your- 
self that  I  have  willingly  and  with  open  eyes 


MISS  DAVISON  145 

adopted  a  certain  course,  and  why  don't  you  leave 
me  alone  to  endure  the  punishment  if  I  have  done 
wrong,  or  to  receive  the  reward  if  I  have  done  right? 
Believe  me,  you  are  only  harassing  me,  adding  to  my 
troubles  and  embarrassments  by  your  persistent  per- 
secution. Nothing  will  turn  me  from  the  course  I 
have  entered  upon,  about  which  I  will  only  say  this, 
that  I  entered  upon  it  of  my  own  free  will,  with 
entire  knowledge  of  its  promises  and  possible  re- 
wards, and  of  its  disadvantages  as  well." 

"  I  would  leave  you  alone  if  you  were  happy," 
burst  out  Gerard.  "  It  is  because  I  see  you  are 
miserable  and  harassed,  because  I  hear  you  implor- 
ing to  be  let  oif  doing  that  which  you  have  been 
ordered  to  do,  that  I  beg  you  to  leave  this  career, 
and  its  rewards,  and  the  rest  of  it,  at  any  rate  for  a 
time.  If  you  would  only  leave  London  for  a  while, 
go  away  somewhere  and  rest  and  forget  this  work 
and  all  its  troubles,  I  would  be  content.  But  until 
you  do,  until  I  know  that  you  are  taking  the  rest 
and  holiday  you  need,  I  shall  continue  what  you 
call  my  persecution,  in  the  hope  of  being  near  you 
at  the  moment  —  which  is  sure  to  come  —  when  you 
will  want  a  friend  to  stand  by  you,  a  better  one  than 
those  for  whom  you  are  working  now." 

He  was  conscious  that  he  was  weak  in  argument, 
and  that  his  lame  words  would  have  but  little  effect 
against  the  resolve  which  set  her  mouth  firm  and 
shone  in  her  mournful  eyes. 


146  THE  DAZZLING 

What  he  had  not  been  prepared  for,  however,  was 
the  gentleness  with  which  she  received  this  tirade,  as 
she  stood  up  in  the  compartment  and  prepared  to  get 
out  at  the  next  station. 

"  You  are  only  adding  to  my  difficulties,"  she 
said,  in  a  tone  of  mournful  resignation.  "  I  quite 
appreciate  the  kindness  of  your  motives,  but  your 
actions  worry  and  harass  me.  In  gratitude  for 
your  good  intentions  I  say  '  Thank  you.5  But  in 
self-defense,  as  you  are  with  the  best  will  in  the 
world  doing  me  a  decided  injury,  I  must  say  also: 
I  wish  to  Heaven  I  had  never  met  you,  and  that  I 
may,  now  that  I  have  had  the  misfortune  to  meet 
you,  never  meet  you  again." 

She  ended  with  a  sort  of  stifled  sob. 

The  cruel  words  stabbed  Gerard  to  the  heart.  He 
uttered  an  incoherent  protest,  but  she  would  not 
listen.  Going  quickly  to  the  end  of  the  compartment, 
she  remained  standing,  with  her  back  turned  towards 
him  and  without  uttering  another  word,  until  the 
train  stopped  at  the  next  station,  when  she  hurriedly 
got  out,  ran  up  the  steps,  and  jumped  into  a  han- 
som, leaving  him,  remorseful,  uneasy,  and  miserable, 
on  the  platform. 

He  had  jumped  out  after  her,  but  saw  that  it  was 
ridiculous  to  think  of  further  pursuit. 

But  a  glance  at  the  moving  train  as  it  went  out 
of  the  station  showed  him,  in  one  of  the  compart- 


MISS  DAY  I  SON  147 

ments,  the  face  of  the  white-haired  gentleman,  with 
a  faint  smile  on  his  cold  features. 

And  Gerard,  who  saw  that  the  mysterious  stranger 
was  looking  at  him,  with  a  sort  of  faint,  cold  con- 
tempt upon  his  face,  wondered  vaguely  whether  he 
had  not  seen  those  well-cut  features,  and  that  in- 
scrutable expression,  somewhere  before  that  day. 

And  as  he  walked  away  and  thought  the  matter 
over,  the  impression  grew  stronger  and  stronger 
upon  him  that,  either  in  a  picture  or  in  the  flesh, 
he  had  seen  the  man's  face  before. 


CHAPTER  XII 

IT  was  on  the  very  last  day  of  July,  when  the 
season  had  come  to  an  end,  and  streams  of  luggage- 
laden  cabs  were  flowing  in  the  direction  of  all  the 
great  railway  stations,  that  Gerard  kept  the  engage- 
ment he  had  made  with  Lady  Jennings,  and  arrived 
at  her  house  in  time  for  dinner. 

During  the  days  which  had  elapsed  since  the 
luncheon  at  her  house,  and  his  pursuit  of  Miss  Davi- 
son  and  the  mysterious  white-haired  man,  Gerard 
had  seen  and  heard  nothing  whatever  of  the  girl,  and 
had  indeed  done  his  best  to  think  of  other  things, 
and  to  push  her  image  out  of  the  unduly  prominent 
position  which  it  had  occupied  in  his  mind  if  not  in 
his  heart. 

The  attempt  had  been,  of  course,  unsuccessful. 
And  it  was  with  the  strongest  possible  feelings  of 
passionate  interest,  and  in  a  state  of  keen  excite- 
ment, that  he  presented  himself  again  at  the  house 
of  her  old  friend  and  protectress,  and  found  his 
heart  beating  high  at  the  thought  of  seeing  her 
again. 

Lady  Jennings,  however,  came  into  the  drawing- 
room  alone,  and  though  three  or  four  other  guests 

148 


149 

came  in  almost  immediately,  Miss  Davison  did  not 
appear. 

Gerard's  spirits  sank  when  the  gong  sounded,  and 
they  all  went  down  to  dinner,  and  he  saw,  with  dis- 
may, that  all  the  places  were  filled,  and  that  the 
woman  in  whom  his  thoughts  were  centered  was  absent 
from  the  circle. 

No  explanation  of  her  absence  was  asked  for  by 
anybody. 

He  was  so  depressed  that,  although  he  of  course 
took  his  share  in  the  general  conversation  and  ex- 
erted himself  to  appear  unmoved  by  his  disappoint- 
ment, he  felt  sure  that  his  hostess  noticed  it.  When 
she  and  the  other  ladies  left  the  room,  he  asked  the 
oldest  of  the  men  present,  who  was  a  constant  visitor 
at  the  house,  what  had  become  of  Lady  Jennings' 
young  friend  and  protegee. 

"  Oh,  haven't  you  heard?  There's  been  a  split, 
I  believe,  a  misunderstanding,  quarrel,  or  something 
serious  of  that  sort.  I  don't  know  the  details  my- 
self, and  I  can't  find  out  more  than  that.  But  Lady 
Jennings  is  very  sensitive  about  it,  and  will  not 
broach  the  subject  with  anybody,  while  one  gets 
snubbed  if  one  starts  it  oneself." 

Gerard  was  on  thorns. 

"  When  did  it  happen  ?  "  he  asked  quickly. 

"  I  don't  know  exactly ;  but  it  was  within  the  last 
few  days.  One  by  one  her  friends,  as  they  called, 


150  THE  DAZZLING 

found  Miss  Davison  missing,  and  gradually  so  much 
has  leaked  out,  and  no  more.  So  be  warned." 

But  Gerard  could  not  accept  the  warning;  he  did 
not  care  two  straws  about  Lady  Jennings'"  anger, 
compared  with  Rachel's  fate.  And  he>  had  already 
decided  to  ask  his  hostess  direct  what  had  become  of 
her  young  companion. 

In  the  meantime  the  gloomiest  doubts  and  fore- 
bodings filled  his  heart.  Even  that  latest  adventure 
with  her  had  not  cured  the  longings  he  felt  for  a 
sight  of  her,  for  a  touch  of  her  hand,  for  a  look  into 
those  beautiful,  mournful,  enigmatic  eyes,,  which 
had  stirred  him  as  no  woman's  eyes  had  ever  done 
before. 

He  made  an  opportunity  of  approaching  Lady 
Jennings,  and  at  once,  in  defiance  of  the  warning 
he-  had  received,  asked  where  Rachel  was,  and  whether 
she  had  consented  to  take  a  holiday. 

The  old  lady's  face  hardened,  and  her  manner 
grew  cold  as  she  answered  — 

"  T  don't  know  what  has  become  of  her,  Mr. 
Buckland;  I  have  broken  off  the  acquaintance." 

**  Is  it  indiscreet  to  ask  on  what  grounds  ?  "  asked 
Gerard  steadily. 

"  Well,  yes,  I  should  say  it  is  indiscreet,  decidedly. 
But  as  I  know  you  take  an  interest  in  the  girl,  I'll 
tell  you  the  reason.  She  has  formed  an  acquaintance 
with  some  people  of  whom  I  don't  approve  — 
Americans." 


MISS  DAVISON  151 

Gerard  looked  surprised.  He  knew  that  he  had 
met  several  charming  Americans  at  the  house.  The 
old  lady  perceived  his  bewilderment. 

"  Oh,  I  don't  object  to  these  Van  Santens  be- 
cause they're  Americans,"  she  explained ;  "  but  be- 
cause they  are  a  type  of  Americans  whom  I  dislike, 
and  of  whom  I  disapprove." 

Gerard  had  heard  the  name  of  Van  Santen  and 
knew  that  these  people  had  made  some  sort  of  stir 
in  certain  circles  during  the  past  season  by  novel  and 
tasteful  entertainments,  which  had  earned  them  the 
way  into  a  good  "  set." 

"  I  don't  know  them,"  he  said ;  "  but  I  know 
some  people  who  do,  and  who  find  them  very  charm- 
ing." 

"  I've  no  doubt,"  retorted  the  old  lady  icily ;  "  but 
I  am  old-fashioned,  and  these  Sunday  bridge-parties 
which  they  give  down  at  a  place  they  have  hired  in 
Hertfordshire  are  things  of  which  I  strongly  disap- 
prove. I  don't  like  the  thing,  to  start  with,  and  I 
don't  like  the  way  it  is  done,  as  far  as  I  have  heard 
anything  of  it." 

"  I'm  sorry  to  hear  there  has  been  a  rupture  be- 
tween you  and  Miss  Davison  upon  such  an  unimpor- 
tant matter." 

"  Oh,  it  is  important  in  my  eyes,  though  I  dare 
say  some  people  might  think  me  too  strict.  But, 
as  you  must  know,  we  have  been  getting  on  so  much 
less  well  together  for  some  time,  that  a  comparatively 


152  THE  DAZZLING 

small  thing  was  able  to  complete  the  separation. 
We  won't  refer  to  it  further,  please.  I  will  only 
say  this,  that  my  quarrel,  or  disagreement  —  what- 
ever you  like  to  call  it  —  with  the  elder  sister,  will 
not  prevent  my  doing  what  I  can  for  the  younger. 
And  I  hope  that  Rachel's  absence  from  my  house 
will  not  cause  you  to  forsake  it,  Mr.  Buckland." 

Of  course  Gerard  protested  that  it  would  not, 
and  equally  of  course  he  knew  in  his  own  heart  that 
he  would  never  care  to  come  near  the  place  again. 
He  cherished  quite  an  unreasonable  resentment,  in- 
deed, against  the  old  lady,  for  what  he  felt  to  be  an 
unjustifiable  desertion  of  Rachel  in  her  hour  of  need; 
and  this  in  spite  of  his  knowledge  that  Rachel  was 
one  of  those  difficult  persons  to  deal  with  who  make 
their  own  troubles,  and  persist  in  their  own  chosen 
line  of  conduct  in  defiance  of  the  will  and  wishes  of 
anybody. 

The  evening  was  a  dull  and  tiresome  one  for  him, 
and  when  he  got  to  his  rooms  that  night  he  spent 
two  or  three  hours  in  deep  thought  on  the  subject 
of  Rachel,  and  was  surprised  and  ill  pleased  to  find 
how  deeply  he  felt  the  disappointment  at  not  hav- 
ing seen  her. 

He  remembered  where  he  had  heard  talk  about 
the  Van  Santens,  the  lively  and  charming  Americans 
who  had  supplied  a  fresh  zest  that  year  to  the  en- 
tertainments of  London  society.  It  was  at  the 
Aldingtons'  that  he  had  heard  the  family  discussed, 


MISS  DAVISON  153 

and  Arthur  Aldington  had  been  quite  proud  of  being 
invited  to  their  house,  as  the  Americans  had  found 
open  to  them  the  doors  of  many  houses  which  would 
have  been  rigidly  closed  to  English  people  of  the 
standing  which  the  Van  Santens  occupied  in  their 
native  country. 

So  on  the  following  Sunday  he  went  down  to  the 
Aldingtons'  house  on  the  river,  where  they  spent 
the  summer  months,  and  found  out  all  he  could  about 
this  American  family  of  whom  Lady  Jennings  dis- 
approved. 

Arthur  was  delighted  to  talk  about  them,  and  ex- 
patiated upon  the  superior  charm  of  American  over 
English  girls,  and  especially  about  the  dainty  beauty 
and  grace  of  Cora  Van  Santen,  who,  he  said,  was 
quite  the  most  charming  girl  he  had  met  in  London 
that  season. 

"  Would  you  like  to  know  them  ?  "  asked  Arthur, 
quite  proud  to  introduce  his  handsome  friend  among 
his  new  and  smart  acquaintances.  "  If  so,  I'll  "take 
you  down  in  the  car  one  Sunday.  They  keep  open 
house  on  Sunday  always,  whether  in  town  or  in  the 
country;  and  I  have  a  general  invitation,  and  can 
bring  a  friend  when  I  like." 

Gerard  caught  at  the  chance  of  seeing  these 
people,  and  of  deciding  whether  Lady  Jennings 
could  have  any  serious  complaint  to  make  against 
them,  or  whether,  as  he  thought  more  likely,  she  had 
merely  made  use  of  them  as  an  excuse  for  -breaking 


154  THE  DAZZLING 

the  relationship  with  the  young  protegee  who  had 
offended  her  by  her  erratic  ways. 

The  two  young  men  went  down  the  very  next  Sun- 
day to  the  Priory,  which  proved  to  be  a  very  much 
modernized  old  house,  which  the  Americans  had 
rented  furnished  from  an  English  baronet. 

It  was  a  charming  old  place;  and  although  these 
newly  arrived  rich  people  had  brought  down  with 
them  from  town,  and  even  across  with  them  from 
New  York,  certain  novelties  necessary  to  their  com- 
fort, they  had  had  discretion  enough  to  avoid 
swamping  the  old  with  the  new  so  that  the  house 
presented  an  appearance  of  refined  comfort  and 
luxury  most  attractive  to  the  eye. 

The  family  consisted  of  five  persons,  and  the 
first  thing  that  Gerard,  who  had  grown  keen  in  ob- 
servation of  late,  noted  about  them  was  that  they 
all  represented  different  types  in  form  and  feature. 

Delia,  the  eldest  girl,  was  what  Arthur  Alding- 
ton irreverently  called  the  nut-cracker  type,  and  was 
a  showy,  tall  woman,  some  thirty  years  of  age, 
vivacious,  talkative,  and  amusing. 

Cora,  the  younger  girl,  was  much  shorter,  and  was 
a  dainty,  pale  girl  of  twenty-five,  who  dressed  with 
studied  simplicity,  and  sang  with  great  charm  and 
sweetness.  Indeed,  her  voice  was  one  of  the  family 
assets,  and  being  well  trained,  had  been  one  of  the 
most  valuable  aids  in  the  family  rise  to  the  enviable 
position  they  already  occupied  in  English  society. 


MISS  DAVISON  155 

The  mother  was  a  dry,  quiet  American  woman, 
very  shy  and  watchful,  as  if  not  quite  sure  of  her- 
self among  her  motley  brood. 

The  rest  of  the  family  consisted  of  two  old-young 
men,  whose  age  seemed  to  be  greater  than  would 
have  been  expected  in  the  brothers  of  the  girls,  but 
who  were  supposed  to  be  sons  by  a  former  wife  of 
the  head  of  the  family,  Mr.  Van  Santen,  who  was 
shortly  expected  from  America. 

Neither  was  like  the  sisters ;  the  one  being  withered 
and  bent,  with  long  teeth  and  a  curious  hard  smile, 
while  the  younger  of  the  two  was  a  tall,  rather  good- 
looking  man  with  a  little  fair  mustache  which  he 
appeared  to  have  only  recently  grown,  a  deep  voice 
and  a  genial  and  almost  homely  manner. 

The  group  was  an  interesting  one,  yet  there  was 
something  about  this  household  which  Gerard  did  not 
like  —  a  strange,  unwholesome  atmosphere. 

The  afternoon  was  not  far  advanced  when  two 
parties  were  formed  for  bridge  playing,  and  a  third 
for  poker.  Gerard  did  not  play,  but  he  kept  his  eyes 
'open  while  the  play  went  on,  and  listened,  entranced, 
when  Cora  sang  for  the  guests. 

Her  beautiful  voice,  indeed  distracted  some  of  the 
card-players,  although  they  were  in  two  of  the  suite 
of  drawing-rooms  opening  on  the  terrace,  and  she 
was  in  the  third. 

Gerard  thought  he  had  never  heard  any  voice  so 
sweet  as  that  of  this  pale  girl  with  the  washed-out 


156  THE  DAZZLING 

blue  eyes,  and  the  soft,  colorless  hair  brushed  straight 
back  in  a  high  full  roll  from  her  forehead.  As  he 
stood  at  the  piano,  while  her  mother  played  her  ac- 
companiments, he  thought,  looking  at  her  slender 
figure,  with  her  hands  clasped  behind  her  and  her 
plain  white  muslin  dress  falling  in  full  folds  round 
her,  without  any  other  ornament  than  a  wide  white 
satin  sash,  that  she  made  a  most  charming  picture 
against  the  background  of  old  tapestry  which  was 
one  of  the  attractions  of  the  music-room. 

He  was  still  listening  enraptured  to  her  singing 
of  an  old  ballad  which  he  had  never  admired  before, 
when  Arthur  Aldington  and  another  young  fellow 
who  had  been  playing  cards  all  the  afternoon  came 
to  join  him  on  the  terrace. 

"  I'm  cleaned  out,"  said  Arthur.  "  This  singing 
is  beautiful  but  it  doesn't  go  well  with  card-playing. 
I'm  not  the  only  man  who  has  quite  lost  his  head 
between  the  two.  Card-playing  for  high  stakes  and 
lovely  music  don't  go  well  together." 

Gerard  listened  with  attention.  The  very  same 
idea  had  entered  his  own  head  some  time  ago,  and 
he  wondered  how  any  of  the  men  could  keep  their  at- 
tention sufficiently  fixed  on  the  cards  to  play  either 
poker  or  bridge  within  hearing  of  Miss  Cora  Van 
Santen. 

"  That's  just  what  I  should  have  thought,"  said 
he. 

"  Of  course  her  two  brothers,  who  are  used  to  the 


MISS  DAVISON  157 

music  can  keep  their  heads,"  went  on  Arthur,  who 
rather  resented  the  inroads  which  the  afternoon's 
play  had  made  in  his  allowance ;  **  so  they  made 
money,  while  we  lost  it." 

Innocently  as  this  was  said,  the  speech  struck 
an  unpleasant  note  in  the  mind  of  Gerard,  who  had 
grown  much  more  suspicious  of  late  than  he  was  by 
nature  inclined  to  be.  He  was  pondering  the  words, 
when  presently  he  heard  Arthur's  voice,  behind  him, 
saying  with  surprise  and  delight  — 

"  What,  you  here !  I  am  pleased  to  meet  you. 
Are  you  staying  here,  then  ?  " 

"  Yes,  I'm  staying  here,"  answered  a  voice  which 
Gerard  recognized. 

And,  in  vague  horror,  he  turned  to  find  that  this 
guest  at  the  house  of  the  Van  Santens  was  no  other 
than  Rachel  Davison.  There  was  a  mutual  look  of 
alarm  in  the  eyes  of  the  girl  and  Gerard  as  he  turned 
sharply  and  found  himself  face  to  face  with  her. 


CHAPTER  XIII 

THE  Priory  gardens  were  looking  lovely  under  the 
rays  of  the  hot  sun  of  the  fading  August  afternoon ; 
but  the  harmonious  tints  of  tree  and  lawn,  of  bank 
and  blossom,  faded  into  an  indistinct  mass  before  the 
eyes  of  Gerard  Buckland  as  he  turned  away  from 
Rachel  Davison,  after  a  low-voiced  greeting  which 
he  uttered  mechanically,  without  knowing  what  he 
said. 

If  she  had  been  unmoved  at  the  meeting,  or  if 
her  manner  and  look  had  been  different,  he  would 
not  have  been  so  much  perturbed  as  he  was.  But 
it  was  not  merely  that  she  looked  infinitely  surprised, 
startled,  and  alarmed  at  the  sight  of  him,  but  that 
there  was  in  her  face  an  expression  which  seemed  to 
bear  only  one  possible  interpretation:  she  looked 
guilty. 

Try  as  he  would  to  forget  the  impression  her  face 
made  upon  him  at  that  first  moment  of  astonishment 
at  the  meeting,  he  could  not  banish  the  disagreeable 
impression. 

She  had  turned  at  once  from  him,  after  the  first 
words  of  greeting,  to  speak  again  to  Arthur  Alding- 
ton, and  to  make  inquiries  after  the  rest  of  his  family. 

158 


THE  DAZZLING  MISS  DAVISON  159 

But  Gerard  saw  in  this  rapid  turning  away  from  him- 
self only  another  proof  of  guilty  consciousness  on 
her  part  that  he  was  there  and  that  he  was  watching 
her. 

He  turned  away  into  the  gardens,  leaving  the  ter- 
race and  going  down  towards  the  broad  fish-pond, 
which  lay  in  a  hollow  at  the  end  of  a  series  of  velvety 
lawns  broken  up  by  flower  beds  which  were  a  mass 
of  tall,  handsome,  flowering  plants. 

The  gardens  were  one  of  the  sights  of  the  county, 
and  even  in  the  state  of  uneasiness  and  anxiety  from 
which  he  was  suffering,  Gerard  was  conscious  of 
their  beauty. 

So,  too,  were  other  people.  For  wandering  about 
among  the  high  hedges  of  yew  and  over  the  soft 
lawns,  he  found  a  dozen  groups  of  two  and  three  per- 
sons, enjoying  the  warm  summer  air,  and  gathering 
under  the  shade  of  the  lime  trees  where  Mrs.  Van 
Santen  was  pouring  out  tea. 

The  lady  threw  at  Gerard  the  apprehensive  glance 
with  which  she  greeted  everyone  who  approached  her 
whom  she  did  not  know  well.  He  looked  at  her  nar- 
rowly, but  there  was  nothing  in  the  least  suspicious 
about  her;  she  was  a  plain-featured,  motherly  woman 
who  gave  the  impression  of  being  more  used  to  a 
simple,  homely  style  of  life  than  to  the  state  which 
now  surrounded  her;  and  the  gentleness  with  which 
she  evidently  tried  to  live  up  to  the  new  life  pre- 
possessed him  in  her  favor. 


160  THE  DAZZLING 

She  smiled  at  him  rather  shyly,  and  invited  him 
to  take  a  seat  beside  her. 

"  I'm  new  to  this,"  she  said,  with  a  strong  Ameri- 
can accent,  as  she  poured  him  out  a  cup  of  tea ; 
"  to  all  this  company,  I  mean.  I'm  used  to  a  quieter 
sort  of  life  altogether;  and  your  smart  British 
society  folks  make  me  shiver  some ! " 

"  Well,  I  hope  you  won't  look  upon  me  as  be- 
longing to  the  people  who  make  you  shiver,"  said 
Gerard,  much  taken  with  her  gentle  looks  and  her 
homely  form  of  speech.  "  So  you  don't  like  us, 
Mrs.  Van  Santen,  so  much  as  your  friends  on  the 
other  side  of  the  Atlantic  ?  " 

"  I  don't  say  that,"  replied  Mrs.  Van  Santen,  in 

the  slow  drawl  which  Gerard  found  rather  attractive. 

"  I've  no  doubt  many  of  the  people  who  frighten  me 

because  I'm  not  used  to  them  only  need  to  be  better 

known.     But    it's    just   this,    Mr.    Buckland,    when 

you've  been  used  to  a  quiet,  homely  kind  of  life,  and 

.you  get  suddenly  plunged  into  a  livelier  sort,  why, 

jit  takes  you  time  for  you  to  feel  your  feet,  you 

know ! " 

"  Of  course  it  does.  But  why  should  you  be 
forced  to  lead  anything  but  the  kind  of  life  you 
like,  and  you're  used  to?  " 

"  Well,  it's  like  this,"  said  the  good  lady  con- 
fidentially ;  "  you  Britishers  think  a  mighty  deal 
more  of  the  dollars  than  folks  do  over  on  the  other 
side!" 


MISS  DAVISON  161 

"  What ! "  cried  Gerard  in  amazement.  "  We 
always  think  it's  the  other  way  about ! " 

She  shook  her  head  shrewdly,  and  brushed  back 
the  braids  of  her  grayish  hair,  which  she  wore  parted 
in  the  middle  and  done  in  a  severely  plain  knot  be- 
hind. 

"  I  never  knew  the  value  of  money,"  she  said  em- 
phatically, "  till  I  came  over  here.  Where  we  come 
from  there  are  many  who  have  money,  and  nobody 
thinks  much  of  us;  but  over  here  we  find  friends 
among  the  smart  people,  and  yet  there's  nothing  to 
make  us  stand  out  from  other  folks ! " 

"  I  think  there  is,  by  what  I  hear  —  and  what  I 
see,"  added  Gerard  courteously.  "  Your  younger 
daughter,  Miss  Cora,  has  a  voice  that  we  very  rarely 
hear  except  on  a  professional  platform,  and  every- 
one says  you  give  entertainments  which  are  unique." 

She  laughed. 

"  I  don't  see  anything  so  special  about  them,"  she 
said  simply,  "  except  that  perhaps  we're  not  so  stiff 
as  you  English  people.  But  I  should  have  thought 
that  was  against  us,  instead  of  being  in  our  favor ! " 

He  laughed. 

"  There's  a  great  deal  of  pretense  and  what  we 
call  cant  about  us  English,"  admitted  Gerard.  "  We 
have  bound  ourselves  by  very  rigid  rules ;  but  we  like 
to  escape  from  them  sometimes,  and  we  do  it  by 
going  abroad,  or  by  visiting  people  of  wider  notions 
than  our  own." 


162  THE  DAZZLING 

"  Oh,  that's  it,  is  it?  Well,  I  daresay,  you're 
about  right.  But  it's  puzzling  too,  to  see  how  your 
great  ladies  and  your  smart  men  come  to  see  us, 
when  on  our  own  side  we're  not  thought  much  of." 

It  was  impossible  not  to  like  this  simple  homely 
creature,  with  her  lasting  wonder  at  the  ease  with 
which  she  and  her  family  had  established  themselves 
in  London  society,  and  the  freedom  with  which  they 
had  been  "  taken  up." 

Gerard  found  it  less  surprising  than  she  did. 
The  very  mixture  of  simplicity  and  homeliness,  as 
represented  by  the  gentle  middle-aged  woman  who 
disdained  the  aid  of  much  extravagance  in  dress,  and 
frankly  spoke  her  mind  about  herself  and  her  family, 
with  the  grace  and  accomplishments  of  the  daughters, 
and  the  devotion  to  cards  of  the  sons,  formed  a  com- 
bination new  and  attractive  to  people  who  were  tired 
of  more  commonplace  households. 

And  the  cleverness  with  which  the  Van  Santens 
had  chosen  to  locate  themselves  in  one  of  the  prettiest 
places  near  London,  and  the  taste  with  which  they 
had  respected  the  beauties  in  which  they  found  them- 
selves, all  combined  to  make  the  Priory  the  most  pop- 
ular resort  of  the  moment  with  a  considerable  portion 
of  the  great  world. 

A  few  belated  stayers  in  London,  who  found  a  de- 
lightful Sunday  resort  in  the  Priory,  and  a  great 
many  people  staying  in  the  country  houses  and  river 
villas  came  over  each  week-end  in  their  motor-cars 


MISS  DAVISON  163 

to  spend  a  few  hours  in  the  merry  atmosphere,  un- 
burdened with  Sabbatarian  restrictions,  of  the  lively 
Americans. 

While  he  was  still  sipping  tea  and  chatting  with 
Mrs.  Van  Santen,  the  sight  of  Rachel  Davison,  com- 
ing slowly  from  the  house,  accompanied  on  one  side 
by  the  younger  and  better-looking  of  the  two  male 
Van  Santens,  made  Gerard  frown  with  displeasure. 

Miss  Davison  was  exquisitely  dressed,  as  usual,  and 
looked  exceedingly  handsome  in  a  gown  of  black  lace 
with  a  long  train  and  lines  of  jet  upon  it,  finished 
with  enormous  jet  tassels.  A  large  number  of  tas- 
sels, similar  in  design,  but  of  smaller  size,  dangled 
from  her  bodice ;  and  from  underneath  the  short,  full 
black  sleeves  and  up  to  the  throat  from  the  slightly 
open  black  bodice,  an  underbodice  and  sleeves,  very 
full  and  of  creamy  white  transparent  material,  peeped 
out,  finishing  the  costume  with  a  relieving  touch. 

Her  dark  hair,  coiled  high  and  fastened  by  amber 
and  jet  combs  and  pins,  set  off  the  delicate  pallor  of 
her  face. 

Gerard,  who  had  never  conquered  the  jealousy 
with  which  he  looked  upon,  any  other  man  who 
seemed  to  attract  any  of  her  attention,  frowned  when 
he  noted  the  evident  admiration  of  the  younger  Van 
Santen,  who  was  tall,  broad-shouldered,  and  good- 
looking. 

Perhaps  it  was  because  he  hated  the  sight  of  a 
good-looking  man  near  Miss  Davison  that  Gerard 


164  THE  DAZZLING 

took  an  instinctive  and  strong  dislike  to  this  Denver 
Van  Santen,  and  told  himself  that  the  fellow  was  ill- 
mannered,  presumptuous,  and  "  bad-form "  alto- 
gether. 

On  the  other  side  of  Miss  Davison  was  an  English- 
man, a  young  baronet,  who  was  already  making  him- 
self conspicuous  by  the  rapidity  with  which  he  was 
dissipating  the  fortune  which  he  had  recently  in- 
herited with  the  title. 

Gerard,  uneasily  glancing  from  the  one  to  the 
other,  and  from  these  three  to  the  groups  of  gay 
visitors  who  were  laughing  and  talking  around  them, 
wondered  what  sort  of  position  the  rest  of  the 
guests  held,  and  whether  there  were  many  present  of 
the  type  represented  by  the  spendthrift  young  baro- 
net. 

There  were  two  or  three  racing  ladies,  women  of 
birth  and  position,  whose  rank  enabled  them  to  go 
fearlessly  wherever  they  fancied,  without  calling 
down  upon  themselves  the  decree  of  banishment  which 
lesser  mortals  can  only  avoid  by  extreme  discretion. 

Gerard  wondered  whether  the  ladies  he  saw  were 
all  of  that  venturesome  type,  and  whether  it  was 
considered  rather  a  daring  thing  to  visit  these  bridge- 
playing  Americans  in  the  snug  retreat  they  had 
chosen  for  themselves. 

Meanwhile  Miss  Davison  had  been  brought  to  the 
group  under  the  lime  trees,  and  placed  in  a  com- 
fortable chair,  and  waited  upon  assiduously  by  the 


MISS  DAVISON  165 

two  young  men  who  had  accompanied  her  from  the 
house. 

Sir  William  Gurdon,  the  young  baronet,  was  com- 
plaining of  his  ill-luck  at  poker.  Denver  Van  San- 
ten  laughed  at  him. 

"  Wants  a  cool  head  —  poker,"  he  remarked ; 
"  and  to  keep  your  mind  on  what  you're  doing. 
That  Cora  and  her  singing  were  enough  to  distract 
anybody.  We'll  get  farther  away  from  the  music 
this  evening,  if  we  play  any  more." 

"  Yes,"  assented  Sir  William.  "  I  should  awfully 
like  to  play  again,  but  I  don't  want  to  make  such  a 
duffer  of  myself  as  I  did  this  afternoon." 

"  I  don't  think  you're  cut  out  for  a  poker-player. 
If  I  were  you  I  should  give  it  up,"  said  Denver,  in 
a  decided  tone. 

Sir  William  resented  this  as  an  imputation  that  he 
was  not  cool-headed. 

"  I  don't  know  why  you  should  say  that,"  he  said 
rather  sharply.  "  I  suppose  poker  has  to  be  learned 
like  everything  else,  and  probably  you  play  it  better 
now  than  when  you  first  began." 

Denver  shook  his  head  modestly. 

"  Not  always,"  he  said ;  "  sometimes  I'm  an  arrant 
duffer  at  it.  Why  the  other  day  I  was  cleaned  out, 
absolutely  cleaned  out,  by  a  fellow  who  hadn't  played 
half  a  dozen  times  in  his  life.  I  did  feel  a  fool,  I 
can  tell  you  !  " 

"  You  shall  try  again  with  me  this  evening,"  said 


166  THE  DAZZLING 

the  baronet.  "  I'm  not  going  to  be  beaten  without 
a  struggle,  at  that  or  at  anything  else." 

Denver,  however,  tried  to  dissuade  him. 

"  You'll  only  get  licked,"  he  said  simply.  "  What- 
ever sort  of  a  player  you  may  make  some  day,  and 
if  you  go  on  trying  I  suppose  you  will  do  all  right 
in  time,  you're  not  strong  enough  to  play  with  old 
hands  like  me  and  the  two  others  who  were  with  us 
to-day." 

Mrs.  Van  Santen  shrugged  her  shoulders. 

"  It's  an  almighty  shame  to  play  cards  all  Sun- 
day ! "  she  said,  in  her  homely  way.  "  I  wonder 
you're  not  ashamed  of  yourself,  Denver,  to  start 
it!" 

"  Well,  so  I  am,  perhaps,"  said  he  good- 
humoredly ;  "  but  I  love  cards,  and  if  anyone  else 
wants  to  play,  I'm  ready  to  take  him  on,  you  bet !  " 

Miss  Davison,  seated  near  Mrs.  Van  Santen,  was 
sipping  tea  and  nibbling  bread  and  butter. 
Gerard,  when  the  other  two  young  men  grew  warm 
in  discussion  of  poker  and  moved  away  a  little,  took 
the  seat  beside  her. 

"  Different  this,  from  the  way  the  Aldingtons 
spend  their  Sunday ! "  said  he,  in  a  low  voice  as 
soon  as  their  hostess  had  turned  to  talk  to  someone 
else. 

"  Yes,"  said  Rachel.  "  It's  rather  shocking  — 
till  you  get  used  to  it." 

"  I  think  it  would  always  seem  shocking  to  me," 


MISS  DAVISON  167 

said  Gerard.  "  I  don't  think  I  have  any  strong 
Sabbatarian  instincts,  but  I  suppose  the  old  Puritan 
survives  in  us  English,  for  I  must  confess  that  to  see 
cards  played  all  day  on  Sunday  grates  upon  me ;  and 
I  should  have  thought,"  he  added  quickly,  in  a  lower 
voice,  "  that  it  would  have  grated  on  you  too." 

This  home-thrust  made  her  blush. 

"  One  has  to  make  allowance,"  she  said,  "  for 
other  people's  ways.  It's  quite  true,  as  you  say,  that 
one's  Puritan  instincts  revolt  from  the  continual 
card-playing;  but  I  suppose  that  very  strict  people 
would  say  it's  just  as  wrong  to  amuse  oneself  as  one 
does  at  the  Aldingtons',  with  music  and  conversa- 
tion." 

"  I  don't  see  how  there  could  be  the  same  objec- 
tion to  that." 

"  It's  only  a  question  of  degree." 

*'  So  that  you  really  wouldn't  mind  if  we  all,  at 
the  Aldingtons',  were  to  sit  down  to  poker  and  bac- 
carat, instead  of  spending  the  Sundays  there  as  we 
do?" 

She  turned  to  him  quickly. 

"  I  really  don't  see  that  we  are  called  upon  to  de- 
cide those  questions,"  she  said.  "  Each  one  must  lay 
down  his  own  laws  of  conduct.  As  a  matter  of  fact, 
it's  a  sentiment,  and  not  any  law,  human  or  divine, 
that  guides  us  in  the  matter,  isn't  it?  You  can't  pre- 
tend that  card-playing  comes  under  the  head  of 
work,  can  you?  " 


168  THE  DAZZLING 

Stung  by  what  he  took  to  be  her  indifference, 
Gerard  made  a  very  indiscreet  speech. 

"  Work !     I'm  not  so  sure  of  that,"  said  he. 

Miss  Davison  turned  to  him  quickly. 

"  Pray,  what  do  you  mean  ?  "  she  asked  sharply. 

But  he  did  not  venture  to  say  more.  Indeed,  he 
felt  that  he  had  nothing  to  say.  He  could  not  well 
have  defined  the  secret  instinct  which  made  him 
vaguely  suspect  that  there  was  something  wrong 
about  the  play,  just  because  Miss  Davison  was  in  the 
house  at  the  time. 

He  certainly  would  not  have  liked  to  avow  that 
that  was  his  reason  for  his  faint  suspicions.  But 
that  it  was  because  Rachel,  who  had  been  concerned 
none  the  less  he  knew,  at  the  bottom  of  his  heart, 
in  other  dubious  transactions,  was  present  at  the 
Priory,  that  he  suspected,  on  hearing  that  Arthur 
Aldington  had  lost  his  money,  that  all  was  not  as 
fair  as  it  looked  in  the  play. 

He  stammered  and  would  have  changed  the  sub- 
ject; but  she  would  not  let  him. 

"  Surely  you  don't  imagine,"  she  said,  "  that  you 
would  meet  Lady  Sylvia  and  the  Marchioness  at 
houses  where  there  was  anything  wrong !  I'm  afraid, 
Mr.  Buckland,  you  let  your  Puritanism  carry  you  a 
great  deal  too  far." 

She  spoke  with  so  much  emphasis  that  he  felt 
ashamed  of  what  he  had  said,  the  more  so  that  he 
really  had  no  grounds  for  supposing  that  the  two 


MISS  D  AVI  SON  169 

wealthy  young  Americans  would  do  anything  that 
was  not  fair.  Indeed,  he  had  himself  heard  one  of 
them  trying  to  persuade  a  silly  fellow  not  to  play 
poker  any  more. 

"  Well,"  he  said,  in  a  shame-faced  manner,  "  I 
admit  that  there's  something  so  distasteful  to  me  in 
seeing  men  win  money  under  their  own  roof,  that  I 
said  what  I  had  no  right  to  say." 

"  I'm  glad  you  admit  so  much,"  said  Rachel  with 
dignity.  "  It  is  not  a  very  nice  suggestion  to  make 
that  my  friends,  the  people  in  whose  house  I  am  stay- 
ing, are  other  than  honorable." 

Remembering  what  he  was  forced  to  suspect  con- 
cerning her,  Gerard  could  not  help  casting  at  her  a 
quick  glance,  at  which  she  blushed  again. 

She  knew  very  well  that  he  suspected  her  of  com- 
plicity in  other  risky  adventures,  and  she  had  no 
right  to  challenge  him. 

"  Well,"  said  he,  "  I  suppose  I  ought  to  apologize, 
but  I  confess  that  if  I  am  forced  to  play  cards  here, 
and  one  feels  awkward  at  refusing  always,  when  one 
is  asked,  I  shall  feel  very  despondent  at  having  to  pit 
myself  against  such  a  lot  of  good  players." 

A  change  came  over  Rachel's  face.  For  a  mo- 
ment she  sat  silent,  but  then  she  rose  from  her  chair, 
and  with  a  glance  which  invited  him  to  follow  her, 
sauntered  away  to  a  flower-border,  where  she  stopped, 
as  if  to  admire  the  mass  of  gorgeous  blossom  in 
front  of  her. 


170  THE  DAZZLING  MISS  DAVISON 

He  looked  at  her,  as  she  stood,  a  beautiful  and 
even  queenly  figure,  in  her  glittering  black  dress 
against  the  green  of  the  foliage  and  the  rich  color- 
ing of  the  flowers ;  and  if  she  had  turned  at  that  mo- 
ment she  would  almost  have  been  able  to  read  in 
Gerard's  face  the  feeling  at  his  heart,  the  passionate 
wistful  longing  to  know  the  truth,  the  whole  truth 
about  her,  to  learn,  for  good  or  ill,  the  secret  which 
he  knew  was  gnawing  at  her  heart,  to  be  able  to  tell, 
once  for  all,  whether  the  woman  who  attracted  him 
in  spite  of  his  knowledge,  in  spite  of  his  judgment, 
was  worthy  or  unworthy  of  an  honest  man's  love. 


CHAPTER  XIV 

was  quite  near  to  her  before  she  spoke,  and  then 
she  did  so  without  looking  up.  In  an  off-hand 
tone,  she  said  — 

"  I  shouldn't  have  expected  you  to  play  cards, 
after  what  you've  said." 

"  Really !  What  have  I  said  to  imply  that  I 
should  never,  in  any  circumstances,  play  cards  ?  " 

She  made  an  impatient  gesture. 

"  Oh,  you  are  trifling,"  she  said.  "  I  meant  that, 
after  all  you've  said  about  Sunday,  and  about  these 
people  playing  so  well,  it  would  be  inconsistent  on 
your  part  to  play  here  to-day." 

"  I  may  be  obliged  to.  One  doesn't  like  to  stand 
out  when  everybody  else  is  playing,"  said  Gerard. 
And,  with  an  uneasy  feeling  that  he  was  going  to 
have  some  hint  given  him,  he  drew  her  out.  "  I  hap- 
pen to  have  some  money  with  me.  I  can't  say  I 
could  afford  very  well  to  loose  all  of  it,  but  after  all, 
at  poker,  and  these  gambling  games,  it  isn't  always 
the  old  hands  that  win." 

She  spoke  with  vivacity. 

"  You  would  be  very  foolish  to  expect  to  win, 
pitted  against  men  like  these  two  idle  Van  Santens, 
who  care  more  for  cards  than  for  anything  else." 

171 


172  THE  DAZZLING 

"  Do  you  mean  that  you  advise  me  not  to  ?  " 

"  Certainly  I  do.  Just  as  I  should  advise  any 
man  not  to  try  his  rawness  against  the  skill  of  prac- 
ticed players  at  cards  or  at  anything  else." 

"  Do  they  always  play  for  such  high  stakes  ?  " 
asked  Gerard  abruptly. 

"  Of  course.  They're  rich  men,  and  there's  no  ex- 
citement for  them  unless  the  stakes  are  high.  And 
I  may  tell  you  that,  rich  as  they  are,  they  like  win- 
ning as  much  as  any  poor  man  could  do." 

Gerard  looked  at  her  steadily. 

"  May  I  say  what  I  think,  Miss  Davison  ?  "  he 
asked,  after  a  short  pause. 

"  Not  if  it's  anything  disagreeable,"  she  said 
quickly.  "  I've  heard  too  many  unpleasant  speeches 
from  you,  Mr.  Buckland,  and  for  the  future  I  com- 
mand you  to  keep  silence  with  me  unless  you  have 
something  to  say  which  I  shall  be  pleased  to  hear." 

She  tried  to  speak  flippantly,  but  there  was  an  un- 
derlying seriousness,  nay,  distress,  in  her  look  and 
tone,  which  told  him  that  she  was  no  happier  than 
she  had  been  when  he  last  met  her. 

"  I'm  going  to  say  what  I  had  in  my  mind,  all  the 
same,"  he  said,  in  a  voice  full  of  deep  feeling.  "  It's 
only  this:  I'm  sorry  to  see  you  here,  Miss  Davison. 
It's  a  change  for  the  worse  from  Lady  Jennings' 
house,  and  I'm  sure  you  must  feel  it  so.  Why  did 
you  quarrel  with  her?  " 


MISS  DAVISON  173 

She  was  deadly  pale,  but  she  tried  to  hold  her  own 
and  to  carry  matters  with  a  high  hand. 

"  Don't  you  think,"  she  said,  "  that  you're  rather 
indiscreet,  Mr.  Buckland,  to  presume  to  lecture  me 
upon  my  actions?  If  I  find  that  I  am  uncomfortable 
in  the  house  of  one  friend,  surely  it  is  my  own  affair 
if  I  try  another?  And  pray  what  fault  have  you  to 
find  with  Mrs.  Van  Santen?  Isn't  she  a  dear  old 
lady,  quite  as  kind  in  her  way  as  Lady  Jennings?" 

Gerard  frowned  in  perplexity. 

"  Oh,  I  suppose  so,"  said  he.  "  Still,  the  whole 
atmosphere  is  different,  the  tone  is  lower;  and  what 
you  gain  in  liveliness  and  gayety  —  and  I  suppose 
you  do  gain  there  —  is,  in  my  opinion,  more  than 
made  up  for  by  what  you  lose  in  refinement.  There 
—  I've  offended  you  deeply,  I  know ;  but  I  don't  care. 
It  had  to  be  said;  and  I  shall  never  be  satisfied  until 
I  see  you  back  again  at  the  little  house  where  you 
seemed  to  be  at  home." 

She  turned  upon  him  again,  in  the  old  way,  ready 
with  some  haughty  speech  expressive  of  her  annoy- 
ance at  his  presumption ;  but,  as  she  did  so,  she  met 
his  eyes.  And,  just  as  it  had  happened  before,  it 
happened  again ;  she  caught  her  breath ;  she  could 
not  go  on ;  and  with  her  eyes  full  of  sudden  tears, 
and  head  which  bent  over  the  flowers  as  if  to  hide 
her  face,  she  remained  silent,  while  he  stood  also 
mute,  excited,  moved,  longing  wistfully  to  make  her 


174  THE  DAZZLING 

speak  out  and  tell  him  the  truth  that  was  troubling 
her. 

But  this  tete-a-tete  was  not  allowed  to  last  long. 

Gerard,  jealous  himself,  had  been  quick  to  notice 
in  the  looks  of  the  younger  and  handsomer  Van 
Santen  the  keen  admiration  of  Miss  Davison's  beauty 
and  grace,  which  seemed  but  a  natural  tribute  to  her 
charms. 

Denver  came  up  at  a  sauntering  pace,  and  with 
a  glance  at  Gerard,  which  was  by  no  means  one  of 
pure  benevolence,  asked  — 

"  Are  you  two  old  friends  now  ?  Is  Mr.  Buck- 
land  a  long-standing  acquaintance  of  yours,  Miss 
Davison  ?  " 

"  I've  known  him  a  year,  haven't  I,  Mr.  Buck- 
land?  Isn't  is  about  a  year  since  I  first  met  you  at 
the  Aldingtons'?" 

"  It's  getting  on  that  way  now.  It  was  in  Octo- 
ber." 

"  Well,  don't  treat  him  as  if  he  was  such  an  old 
friend  that  you  haven't  any  eyes  for  newer  ones, 
Miss  Davison,"  pleaded  Denver,  in  that  bluff  way 
which  gave  him  an  air  of  great  honesty  and  good 
nature,  but  which  struck  Gerard,  at  that  moment,  as 
being  merely  rude  and  ill-mannered.  "  Miss  Davi- 
son, I  want  you  to  come  in  and  look  over  my  shoulder 
—  to  bring  me  luck,"  he  said. 

"  Hadn't  you  luck  enough  to  please  you  this  after- 
noon? "  asked  Gerard,  more  dryly  than  was  quite 


MISS  DAVISON  175 

civil.  "  You  seemed  to  have  things  all  your  own  way 
with  Aldington  and  Gurdon,  and  the  others ! " 

Denver,  instead  of  being  offended,  burst  into  a 
hearty  laugh. 

"  Did  I?  "  said  he.  "  Well  then,  come  now,  you 
shall  take  revenge  upon  me  for  all  the  rest  of  'em? 
Will  that  do?" 

Miss  Davison  came  up  to  them  laughing  lightly. 

"  Oh,  no,  Mr.  Denver,"  she  said,  "  you  mustn't 
make  Mr.  Buckland  play  cards  on  Sunday.  It's 
against  his  principles,  I  know.  He's  told  me  so." 

Denver  Van  Santen  thrust  his  hands  into  his 
pockets,  and  turned  to  Gerard  with  a  jolly  look  of 
incredulous  amazement. 

"  Oh,  come  now,  I  can't  quite  believe  that,"  he 
said.  "  You  don't  mean  that  in  this  old  country 
there  are  still  left  people,  sensible  people,  who  care 
a  fig  what  day  it  is  on  which  they  have  a  good  time?  " 

"  I  don't  know  that  cards  are  my  idea  of  a  good 
time,"  said  Gerard  quietly.  "  I'm  not  fond  of  them, 
and  I've  only  played  poker  once,  and  that  a  long  time 
ago." 

"  Won't  you  try  your  luck  now  ?  " 

"  I  think  not  to-day,"  said  Gerard.  "  Aldington 
and  I  have  to  be  getting  back  to  town." 

"  Oh,  no.  You'll  stay  to  dinner,  won't  you  ? 
Aldington's  going  to." 

Gerard  tried  to  get  hold  of  Arthur,  to  persuade 
him  to  leave  the  Priory  without  delay.  But  his 


176  THE  DAZZLING 

friend  had  been  too  much  attracted  by  Cora  Van 
Santen  to  be  able  to  tear  himself  away  so  soon,  and 
they  found  themselves  forced  to  stay  to  dinner,  which 
was  fixed  on  Sunday  at  the  early  hour  of  half-past 
six,  in  order  to  leave  more  time  for  card-playing 
afterwards,  as  Gerard  discovered. 

When  the  guests  who  had  stayed  to  dinner,  who 
numbered  some  eight  or  nine,  retired  to  the  drawing- 
rooms  afterwards,  they  found  there  some  half-dozen 
new  arrivals,  who  had  dropped  in  for  the  evening. 
When  Gerard  entered  the  music-room,  after  dinner, 
where  he  hoped  to  be  allowed  to  remain,  in  order  to 
escape  the  card-playing,  he  caught  sight  of  a  figure 
which  he  thought  was  familiar,  but  which  he  could 
not  immediately  identify. 

It  was  that  of  a  tall,  broad-shouldered  young  man, 
dressed,  like  most  of  the  others,  in  dinner  coat  of 
the  usual  type.  He  stood  a  little  apart,  as  if  not 
quite  at  home  among  the  others,  and  Gerard  looked 
at  him  two  or  three  times,  without  being  able  to  recol- 
lect where  he  had  seen  him  before.  He  was  a  rather 
silly-looking  man  with  gentle  dark  eyes,  an  insignifi- 
cant nose,  and  a  black  mustache,  and  he  seemed,  from 
the  little  which  Gerard  heard  him  say,  to  be  as  dull 
and  commonplace  a  fellow  as  ever  made  one  of  the 
background  figures  at  any  social  gathering. 

He  talked  about  the  weather,  and  uttered  those  im- 
portant remarks  shyly,  as  if  ashamed  of  the  sound 


MISS  DAVISON  177 

of  his  own  voice ;  altogether  a  very  dull  and  uninter- 
esting person  he  seemed  to  be. 

Gerard  overheard  Sir  William  Gurdon  asking  one 
of  the  Van  Santens  who  he  was. 

"  Well,  I  believe  his  name  is  Jones,  and  that's 
about  all  I  know  about  him,  except  that  he's  been 
here  three  times,  and  hasn't  opened  his  mouth  more 
than  twice,"  replied  Denver,  with  a  laugh.  "  A  reg- 
ular type  of  your  bullet-headed,  stolid  Englishman,  I 
call  him." 

"  We're  not  all  so  dull  as  he  appears  to  be,"  re- 
torted Sir  William,  as  he  turned  away. 

Mr.  Jones  was  so  shy  that  Mrs.  Van  Santen  took 
compassion  on  him,  and  introduced  him  to  one  or  two 
of  the  ladies,  and  in  particular  to  Rachel  Davison,  to 
whom  she  whispered  — 

"  Your  poor  compatriot  is  so  frightened  that 
you'd  be  doing  him  a  kindness  if  you'd  say  something 
to  him.  Tell  him  it's  some  time  since  we  Americans 
were  cannibals;  but  for  that  matter,  if  we  were  still, 
I  think  he'd  be  quite  safe." 

And  the  good  creature  led  the  shy  young  man  up 
to  Miss  Rachel,  and  said  — 

"  Mr.  Cecil  Jones  —  Miss  Davison." 

Rachel  smiled  and  spoke  kindly  to  the  poor  fellow, 
and  tried  to  put  him  at  his  ease. 

But  Gerard  was  looking  at  the  two  spellbound. 
For  Mr.  Jones  had  had  to  turn  his  back  to  him  in 


178  THE  DAZZLING 

order  to  make  his  bow  to  the  lady  to  whom  he  was 
thus  presented.  And  Gerard,  scarcely  believing  his 
eyes,  stared  at  him  from  this  new  point  of  view,  and 
felt  more  and  more  convinced  that,  though  he  had 
not  recognized  the  dull,  sheepish  face,  he  knew  the 
back  view  of  Mr.  Cecil  Jones;  and  that  he  was  no 
other  than  the  young  man  who  had  beckoned  Miss 
Davison  out  of  the  tea-shop,  and  who  had  accompa- 
nied her  to  and  from  the  police-station,  on  the  day  of 
the  shop-lifting  incident  at  the  stores. 

Gerard  felt  stupefied. 

What  was  going  to  happen?  What  were  these 
two  here  for,  pretending  to  be  strangers  to  each 
other,  and  talking  with  the  air  of  forced  animation 
with  which  people  do  when  they  have  been  newly  in- 
troduced? 

Gerard  watched  them  furtively,  and  noted  other 
strange  things. 

It  was  not  long  after  dinner  when  the  card-play- 
ing began  again,  but  Mr.  Jones  excused  himself  by 
saying  that  he  really  scarcely  knew  one  card  from 
another.  There  was  much  amusement  at  this,  and 
Denver  insisted  that  if  he  knew  nothing  about  cards 
he  must  learn,  and  made  him  choose  whether  he  would 
begin  with  baccarat,  poker,  or  bridge. 

"  Really,"  protested  the  blushing  young  man,  "  it 
doesn't  much  matter  what  I  begin  with,  as  I  tell  you 
I  know  nothing  about  any  one  of  them." 

However,  they  would  take  no  denial,  and  the  un- 


MISS  DAVISON  179 

happy  young  man  was  thrust  into  a  seat,  forced  to 
take  the  cards  into  his  hands,  and  exhibited  such 
dense  ignorance  of  even  the  way  to  hold  his  cards 
that  the  Van  Santens  were  secretly  in  fits  of  laugh- 
ter at  his  expense,  which  they  found  it  hard  to  hide. 

He  obstructed  the  game  by  his  foolish  questions, 
betrayed  his  helplessness  and  incompetency  at  every 
move,  and  grew  quite  angry  at  his  own  ill-luck. 

"  I'd  always  heard,"  lie  protested  ruefully,  when  he 
had  lost  a  couple  of  sovereigns,  the  stakes  having 
been  lowered  in  deference  to  his  incapacity,  "  that 
beginners  generally  win.  I  don't  seem  to,  though." 

"  You're  not  venturesome  enough,"  said  Miss  Davi- 
son  encouragingly.  "  You  should  play  with  a  little 
more  daring.  Don't  be  timid." 

"  Why  don't  you  take  a  hand  yourself,  to  give  him 
courage?  "  suggested  Denver. 

"  Not  at  poker.     I  don't  understand  it,"  said  she. 

"  Well,  at  anything  you  like.  What  do  you 
know?  Baccarat?  Nap?  I  don't  care  what  it  is 
as  long  as  it's  cards,"  said  Denver. 

Miss  Davison  consented  to  sit  down  and  make  one 
at  nap,  and,  to  Gerard's  uneasiness,  she  won  as  much 
as  the  Van  Santens  did.  But  still  Cecil  Jones  lost 
steadily,  until  he  declared  that  he  had  no  more  money 
to  play  with. 

Miss  Davison  seemed  quite  delighted  at  her  own 
luck,  and  gathered  up  her  winnings  in  triumph. 

The  others  congratulated  her,  and  Gerard  watched 


180  THE  DAZZLING 

her  as  she  sailed  out  of  the  room  and  on  to  the  ter- 
race, with  her  winnings  in  her  hands  to  show  to  Delia 
Van  Santen. 

Delia  was  the  center  of  a  lively  group  who  were 
sitting  on  the  terrace  in  the  evening  air,  laughing 
and  talking  and  enjoying  themselves  more  innocently 
than  the  gamblers  within. 

Cora  and  Arthur  Aldington  were  sitting  apart  on 
the  stone  balustrade,  and  Gerard  could  see  that  the 
young  man  was  getting  every  moment  more  deeply 
in  love  with  the  graceful  songstress. 

Miss  Davison  ran  up  to  Mrs.  Van  Santen  and 
showed  her  winnings  with  delight;  but  the  old  lady 
was  not  pleased. 

"  Dear  me,"  she  said,  "  I  don't  know  what  you 
young  folks  want  with  so  much  money,  that  you 
must  needs  gamble  to  get  it!  I  should  have  thought 
it  was  much  pleasanter  to  spend  the  evening  in  this 
beautiful  air  than  in  those  hot  rooms!  And  you, 
Miss  Davison !  I'm  surprised  at  you.  I  was  look- 
ing to  you  to  win  Denver  from  his  gaming  ways ! 
He  thinks  so  much  of  you,  and  admires  you  so  much ! 
And  now  you're  encouraging  him  in  it ! " 

The  old  lady  had  talked  herself  out  of  breath, 
while  Rachel  only  laughed  and  put  her  winnings  in 
her  purse. 

"  I'll  cure  him,"  she  said,  "  by  winning  all  his 
money  and  leaving  him  without  any !  Won't  that 
do,  Mrs.  Van  Santen?" 


MISS  DAVISON  181 

And  she  laughed  archly  at  the  gentle  old  lady,  who 
shook  her  head  and  told  her  she  was  every  bit  as  bad 
as  the  boys. 

Meanwhile  the  play  went  on,  sometimes  at  one 
game,  and  sometimes  at  another;  and  the  luck  varied 
a  little,  but  only  a  little. 

Denver  Van  Santen  warned  all  those  who  wanted 
to  play  poker  with  him  that  they  had  better  not  un- 
less they  wanted  to  lose  their  money. 

"  I'll  back  myself,"  he  said  quite  frankly,  "  to 
play  poker  against  anybody.  Against  anybody  — 
I  don't  care  who  it  is." 

And  truly  enough,  although  at  other  games  the 
luck  varied  a  good  deal,  it  was  hopeless  to  try  to  get 
the  better  of  Denver  at  his  favorite  game. 

Harry  Van  Santen,  who  was  a  plain,  wrinkled 
man,  with  long  teeth  and  a  cold,  funless  smile,  played 
bridge  well,  and  won  for  the  most  part ;  but  his  luck 
was  subject  to  variations,  and  when  he  reckoned  up 
his  fortune  at  the  end  of  the  play,  he  avowed  himself 
a  loser  by  two  pounds  ten. 

But  Denver  pursued  a  boastful  and  victorious 
course,  which  remained  uncheckered  to  the  end.  He 
was  perfectly  candid  and  honest  about  his  winnings, 
reckoned  them  up  openly,  and  found  that  he  had 
made  twenty-six  pounds  during  the  day.  But  he 
was  so  swaggeringly  triumphant,  so  carelessly  sure 
of  always  retaining  the  luck  he  had  had  that  day, 
that  he  irritated  some  of  the  men,  and  got  two  or 


182  THE  DAZZLING 

three  promises,  among  them  one  from  Sir  William 
Gurdon,  that  he  should  not  be  allowed  to  win  always. 
They  would  come  another  day  and  get  their  own 
back. 

But  Denver,  laughing  with  great  good  humor,  de- 
fied them  all. 

They  might  come  and  play  with  him  whenever 
they  liked,  but  they  would  get  a  licking,  he  said. 
He  flattered  himself  he  knew  what  he  was  talking 
about.  And  while  he  admitted  that  he  was  weak  in 
geography,  history,  and  the  use  of  the  globes,  he  was 
ready  to  bet  his  bottom  dollar  that  he  would  hold  his 
own  at  his  own  favorite  game  till  the  end  of  the 
chapter. 

He  grew  excited  and  challenged  them  to  bring  to 
the  Priory  any  British  poker-player  alive,  and  he 
would  show  him  a  thing  or  two  he,  the  Britisher, 
didn't  know. 

And  so,  good  humored  to  the  end,  but  secure  and 
confident  in  his  victories,  Denver  saw  the  guests  off, 
and  stood  at  the  Priory  door  waving  his  hand  to 
the  men  whom  he  had  made  the  victims  of  his  skill. 

Gerard  and  Arthur  were  among  the  last  to  leave, 
Arthur  being  unable  to  tear  himself  away  from 
Cora's  side,  and  Gerard  being  very  anxious,  as  he  al- 
ways was,  for  just  a  last  word  with  Miss  Davison. 

When  he  got  his  opportunity,  Gerard  asked  ab- 
ruptly— 


MISS  DAVISON  «183 

"  Why  did  you  pretend  you'd  never  seen  Mr. 
Jones  before  this  evening?  " 

Miss  Davison  opened  wide  eyes  of  surprise. 

"  Really,  Mr.  Buckland,  it's  very  hard  to  have  to 
say  so,  but  don't  you  think  you  are  going  a  little  too 
far?  I  don't  know  what  you  mean." 

"  You  have  met  Mr.  Cecil  Jones  before,  but  this 
evening  you  treated  him  as  if  he  had  been  a  complete 
stranger." 

A  light  came  into  her  eyes. 

"  Oh,  I  know  whom  you  take  him  for,"  she  said 
quickly.     "  The  man  you  saw  me  with  that  day  - 
the  day  when  something  happened  at  the  stores." 

"  Yes,  yes,"  cried  he,  surprised  at  her  sudden  touch 
of  candor. 

She  smiled  demurely. 

"  But  that  man,"  she  said,  with  a  smile  of  irri- 
tating superior  knowledge,  "  was  not  Mr.  Jones  at 
all.  I  swear  it." 

"  You  swear ! "  faltered  Gerard. 

"  Yes ;  I'm  not  at  liberty  to  tell  you  that  man's 
name,  but  —  it  is  not  Cecil  Jones." 

Gerard  fell  back,  bewildered  and  wounded.  He 
could  not  bear  to  face  fresh  proofs  of  her  duplicity. 
But  was  he  mistaken?  Or  was  she  forsworn? 


CHAPTER  XV 

THE  last  impression  left  upon  Gerard  Buckland's 
mind  as  he  went  down  the  drive  with  Arthur  Alding- 
ton after  they  had  taken  leave  of  the  American  fam- 
ily at  the  Priory,  was  that  of  a  party  of  good- 
humored,  unpretending,  easy-mannered  people,  anx- 
ious to  enjoy  life  and  to  make  those  around  them 
enjoy  it  also. 

The  group  on  the  door  step  of  the  old  Elizabethan 
mansion,  as  seen  partly  in  the  moonlight  and  partly 
in  the  electric  light  which  streamed  through  the  open 
door  of  the  house,  was  a  striking  and  a  charming 
one. 

In  the  foreground  stood  the  two  brothers,  Harry, 
tall,  thin,  solemn,  and  perhaps  rather  unprepossess- 
ing but  not  at  all  behind  the  rest  of  the  family  in  the 
warmth  of  his  invitation  to  the  departing  guests  to 
come  again. 

Denver,  the  younger,  broad-shouldered,  deep- 
voiced,  the  embodiment  of  good  humor,  perhaps 
rather  addicted  to  his  national  vice  of  boastfulness, 
but  on  the  whole  too  unaffected  and  straightforward 
in  manner  to  be  other  than  pleasing. 

Mrs.  Van  Santen,  the  picture  of  gentle  good  na- 
184 


THE  DAZZLING  MISS  DAV1SON  185 

ture  and  simplicity,  was  just  behind  her  sons,  with  a 
hand  on  the  shoulder  of  the  younger,  who  stood  on 
the  step  below  her.  Her  gentle  voice  could  be  heard 
but  faintly  as  she  wished  her  guests  good-bye;  but 
the  gracious,  homely  figure  was  good  to  look  upon, 
forming  as  it  did  a  strong  amusing  contrast  to  the 
elegance  of  her  daughters,  and  to  the  luxury  of  the 
house  in  which  they  lived. 

The  daughters  were,  perhaps,  the  figures  that  re- 
mained the  longest  in  the  minds  of  the  departing 
guests.  After  the  manner  of  young  American 
women,  they  were  so  amusing,  so  vivacious,  and 
withal  so  quiet  in  their  manners,  making  their  mark 
rather  by  quickness  of  intellect  than  by  loudness  of 
voice,  that  it  was  impossible  to  think  of  them  without 
recalling  the  pleasure  their  accomplishments  and 
graces  had  given. 

Delia,  the  elder,  was  the  perfection  of  grace,  and 
wore  her  plainly  made  but  well-chosen  clothes  with 
a  distinction  which  a  princess  might  have  envied. 
Without  being  very  handsome,  she  was  so  lively,  so 
full  of  repartee  and  resource  in  argument,  and  so  ac- 
tive and  alert  in  passing  from  group  to  group  among 
her  mother's  guests,  assuring  herself  that  all  were  en- 
joying themselves,  and  that  they  were  in  congenial 
society,  that  she  might  have  been  called  the  leading 
spirit  of  the  family,  and  was  undoubtedly  the  pivot 
on  which  their  social  scheme  turned. 

She  it  was  who  knew  when  to  take  a  guest,  sore 


186  THE  DAZZLING 

over  his  losses  at  poker,  into  the  garden  to  en j  oy  con- 
versation under  the  trees  in  the  soothing  society  of 
the  old  lady,  or  into  the  music-room  to  be  coaxed 
back  into  good  humor  by  the  sweet  singing  of  her 
sister  Cora. 

As  for  Cora,  her  musical  gifts  never  failed  to  evoke 
the  remark  that  it  was  a  pity  she  was  not  a  profes- 
sional singer,  for  such  rare  sweetness  of  voice  as  she 
possessed  ought  to  have  been  given  to  a  wider  circle 
than  any  amateur  can  appeal  to. 

But  when  anyone  said  this,  the  brothers  would  look 
rather  offended,  and  would  say  shortly  that  it  might 
have  been  all  very  well  for  Cora  if  she  had  been  poor, 
to  earn  her  living  on  the  concert  platform,  but  that 
they  could  never  think  of  allowing  their  sister,  who 
had  and  would  always  have,  every  luxury  she  could 
wish  for  provided  for  her,  to  appear  in  public.  If 
her  voice  was  charming,  let  her  use  it  for  the  pleasure 
of  her  friends. 

Personally,  then,  Gerard  had  no  fault  to  find  with 
any  of  the  family.  He  might  like  some  members  of 
it  better  than  the  others,  he  might  disapprove  of  the 
tastes  and  habits  which  seemed  to  him  to  indicate  both 
want  of  consideration  for  their  visitors  and  lack  of 
those  qualities  which  make  men  lifelong  friends.  To 
spend  so  many  hours  at  cards  was  revolting  to  the 
young  Englishman,  and  his  principles  and  prejudices 
alike  made  the  spending  of  Sunday  in  this  manner 
distasteful  to  him. 


MISS  DAVISON  187 

But  this  alone  would  have  roused  in  him  no  suspi- 
cion  that  there  was  anything  wrong  about  these  hos- 
pitable strangers.  Many  an  English  household  that 
he  knew  of  spent  Sunday  in  much  the  same  way,  and 
incurred  no  suspicion  of  there  being  anything  worse 
than  a  tendency  to  dissipation  on  the  part  of  its  mem- 
bers. 

Racing  ladies  like  Lady  Sylvia  and  the  March- 
ioness were  known  to  play  bridge  on  most  days,  and 
yet  they  were  not  "  cut "  by  their  acquaintances  and 
friends. 

It  was  the  fact  that  he  had  met  Rachel  Davison 
at  the  Priory  which  filled  Gerard  with  disquietude. 
For,  whatever  might  be  the  truth  about  her,  it  was 
undeniable  that  he  had  so  far  never  failed  to  find 
her  connected  in  some  more  or  less  close  way  with 
things  that  had  been  better  undone. 

The  incident  in  the  crowd  on  the  night  of  the  ball ; 
the  affair  at  the  stores ;  her  deceit  towards  her  mother 
and  Lady  Jennings ;  all  these  things  combined  to 
make  it  impossible  to  see  in  this  fresh  phase  of  Ra- 
chel's existence  anything  but  some  new  form  of  trick- 
ery or  ugly  mystery. 

To  have  seen  her  sit  down  to  play  cards  with  these 
Americans,  therefore,  would  alone  have  made  him 
curious  concerning  them;  but,  coupled  with  the  fact 
that  both  she  and  the  Van  Santens  had  pretended  not 
to  know  the  man  Jones,  her  playing  became  at  once 


188  THE  DAZZLING 

suggestive  to  Gerard's  unwilling  mind  of  something 
being  wrong  with  the  play. 

What  he  would  have  passed  without  remark  at  any 
other  time,  therefore,  now  became  a  source  of  dis- 
turbance and  uneasiness  to  him ;  and  instead  of  tak- 
ing for  granted  that  Denver's  estimate  of  his  gains 
that  day  was  correct,  he  made  a  little  sum  for  him- 
self, based  on  what  he  had  heard,  in  answer  to  his  in- 
quiries, concerning  the  luck  of  the  rest  of  the  card- 
players. 

And  the  result  of  his  calculations  was  to  find  that, 
instead  of  Denver's  having  won  twenty-six  pounds, 
which  was  his  own  rough  estimate  of  his  winnings,  he 
must  have  netted  at  least  two  hundred  pounds. 

From  this  calculation  it  was  easy  to  go  on  to 
others ;  and  to  say  that,  if  Denver  played  poker  once 
a  week  only,  and  if  he  were  always  as  lucky  and  as 
skillful  as  he  had  shown  himself  that  day,  then  his  an- 
nual income  derived  from  the  cards  alone  must  be 
something  approaching  ten  thousand  pounds. 

Of  course  he  had  no  possible  means  of  knowing 
whether  Denver  did  play  poker  every  Sunday;  and 
whether  he  invariably  won  at  it ;  but,  taking  the  facts 
that  he  knew  in  conjunction  with  Miss  Davison's 
presence,  and  with  the  singular  fact  that  she  and  the 
others  pretended  not  to  know  Jones,  who  was  clearly 
acting  as  a  decoy,  it  seemed  to  Gerard  terribly  diffi- 
cult to  get  away  from  the  conclusion  that  something 


MISS  DAVISON  189 

was  wrong  in  the  pleasant  and  hospitable  household, 
and  that  Rachel  Davison  was  mixed  up  in  it. 

And  now  she  had  deliberately  told  him  a  lie!  He 
tried  in  vain  to  avoid  coming  to  this  conclusion,  but 
in  the  face  of  her  denial  that  Cecil  Jones  was  iden- 
tical with  the  man  he  had  seen  in  her  company  more 
than  once,  he  could  not  believe  her.  Although  to- 
day was  the  first  occasion  on  which  he  hud  seen  the 
young  man's  face,  Gerard  had  so  careiuily  made 
a  mental  note  of  his  figure  and  gait,  that  he  was  sure 
he  could  not  be  mistaken. 

Arthur  Aldington,  who  was  his  own  chauffeur,  was 
driving  slowly  and  carefully  down  the  drive  when 
suddenly  he  stopped  the  motor-car,  and  looking  out 
into  the  road  towards  which  he  was  going,  said  — 

"  By  Jove !  There's  a  breakdown,  and  it's  Sir 
William  Gurdon's  big  car  in  difficulties,  I  believe." 

Gerard  jumped  out  and  went  down  the  drive  to 
the  gate,  which  had  been  left  open. 

Looking  down  the  road  he  saw  that  Arthur  was 
right:  the  big,  handsome  car  which  had  brought  the 
baronet  over  from  his  Thames-side  villa  was  blocking 
the  road,  and  beside  it  were  three  persons :  Sir  Wil- 
liam, his  chauffeur,  and  Cecil  Jones,  whom  the  bar- 
onet had  offered  to  take  back  to  town  with  him,  which 
he  could  easily  do,  as  he  proposed  to  spend  the  night 
in  the  city  himself. 

Gerard   went   back   to   Arthur,   told   him   he    was 


190  THE  DAZZLING 

right,  and  jumping  into  the  car  again,  turned  and 
said  — 

"  Sir  William's  got  that  fellow  Jones  with  him." 

Arthur  had  not  jet  started  the  car,  and  he  said  in 
a  low  voice  — 

"  I  don't  like  the  look  of  Jones.  He's  such  an 
awful  ass!  I  don't  want  to  have  to  take  him  with 
us." 

"  Oh,  I  don't  suppose  we  shall  have  to  do  that. 
We  don't  know  what's  wrong.  Something  very 
trifling,  perhaps." 

Still  Arthur  hesitated.  He  was  in  a  very  ill  hu- 
mor, on  account  of  his  losses. 

"  I  suppose  it  doesn't  matter  to  him  how  much 
money  he  loses,"  he  said,  in  a  grumbling  tone ;  "  he 
looks  that  sort  of  chap,  doesn't  he?  " 

Gerard  hesitated.  He  had  in  his  mind  the  notion 
that  Cecil  Jones,  simple  as  he  looked  and  sillily  as  he 
spoke,  was  not  quite  the  innocent  jay  he  appeared. 
But  yet  he  did  not  want  to  betray  a  suspicion  of  these 
new  friends  of  Rachel  Davison's  until  he  was  quite 
sure  about  them. 

"  Did  he  lose  much  ?  "  asked  Gerard,  instead  of  re- 
plying to  his  friend's  question. 

"  I  don't  quite  know.  I  saw  a  good  deal  of  gold 
flying  about,  and  he  said,  with  that  sheepish  smile  of 
his,  that  he'd  been  cleaned  out.  I  wonder  Miss  Davi- 
son  cares  to  stay,  with  people  who  play  cards  all  day 
on  Sunday ! " 


MISS  D  AVI  SON  191 

"  Well,  it  surprised  me  to  see  her  playing,  too," 
admitted  Gerard. 

"  Yes.  I  shan't  say  anything  about  that  at  home. 
Mother  would  be  awfully  disgusted.  And  I  can't 
say  I  quite  like  it  myself;  and  I  know  I  don't  like 
losing  so  much  as  I  did." 

"  Why  did  you  go  on  playing,  then?" 

"  Oh,  you  know  one  can't  help  oneself.  These 
people  are  rich,  and  they  don't  consider  that  other 
pockets  are  not  all  as  deep  as  their  own." 

"  Are  they  really  so  rich  ?  " 

"  Oh,  yes.  Of  course  I  know  everybody  in  Amer- 
ica is  called  a  millionaire  if  he  has  a  little  money  put 
by.  But  the  father,  old  Van  Santen,  really  is  a  very 
rich  man,  as  I  happen  to  know,  and  a  man  with  a  de- 
cent character,  as  rich  men's  characters  go  out  there. 
He's  expected  over  here  every  day,  and  I  fancy  he'll 
be  rather  surprised,  if  all  I  hear  about  his  rather 
straight-laced  views  is  correct,  at  the  way  in  which 
his  quiet  family  has  transformed  itself  into  a  remark- 
ably lively  one.  Denver  says  they've  all  been  kept  in 
with  too  tight  a  hand,  and  that  now  they  have  to 
make  up  for  it." 

"  I  don't  quite  understand  that  fellow,"  said 
Gerard.  "  He's  not  consistent.  I  heard  him  tell- 
ing Sir  William  that  he  sometimes  lost  at  poker  to 
beginners  at  the  game.  But  then,  later,  he  was 
boasting  that  he  could  beat  any  poker-player  in 
England." 


192  THE  DAZZLING 

"  I  don't  believe,"  said  Arthur  viciously,  "  that 
he  plays  merely  for  the  pleasure  of  the  game,  as  he 
says.  I  believe  he's  trying  to  make  a  pile  for  him- 
self, in  case  his  father,  when  he  turns  up,  should  ob- 
ject to  the  way  they've  been  going  on,  and  cut  off 
supplies." 

This  was  a  good  suggestion,  and  Gerard  mut- 
tered, "  By  Jove !  " 

"  Of  course  I  don't  mean  to  suggest,"  went  on 
Arthur  hastily,  "  that  there's  anything  fishy  about 
his  play.  Only  that  he  isn't  indifferent  to  what  he 
makes  by  it." 

"  I  think  that  too,"  assented  Gerard. 

"  But  pray  don't  say  I  made  any  suggestion  of 
the  sort,"  added  Arthur.  "  I  shouldn't  like  the  girls 
to  hear  that  I  had  said  anything  they  wouldn't  like 
to  hear  about  their  brother.  And  indeed  I  don't 
know  that  I  have  any  right  to  say  what  I  did  to  you ; 
but  I'm  rather  sore  at  having  been  fool  enough  to 
lose  more  money  than  I  can  afford." 

"  Of  course,"  suggested  Gerard  tentatively,  "  if 
you  suspect  the  one  you  must  suspect  the  rest,  and 
surely  you  don't  think  the  ladies  — " 

Arthur  interrupted  quite  fiercely. 

"  I  don't  suspect  anybody.  I  never  said  such  a 
thing,"  he  said  irritably.  "  Of  course  it's  all  right. 
But  what  I  meant  was  that  I  don't  like  American  men 
and  their  ways  and  habits  and  tastes,  so  well  as  I  like 
the  feminine  part  of  the  nation.  The  daughters 


MISS  DAVISON  193 

are  charming,  perfectly  charming,  and  the  old  lady 
is  quite  a  treat  in  her  refreshing  innocence.  The 
sight  of  that  quaint  New  England  —  it  is  New  Eng- 
land, isn't  it,  that  the  quaint  old  figures  come  from? 
—  New  England  figure  among  all  those  smart  young 
modern  men  and  women,  is  something  one  can't  for- 
get." 

"  You're  quite  right,"  said  Gerard  enthusiast- 
ically. "  She's  an  old  dear,  with  her  skimpy  little 
shawl,  and  what  I'm  sure  she  would  call  her  best 
taffety  petticoat." 

The  two  young  men  laughed,  and,  as  there  was  no 
sign  of  a  forward  movement  in  the  big  car,  Arthur 
started  his  motor,  and  soon  arrived  at  the  spot  where 
the  group  stood  round  the  disabled  machine. 

"Hallo!  A  breakdown!  Anything  we  can  do?" 
asked  Arthur,  as  he  stopped  and  got  down. 

Sir  William  was  not  at  all  pleased  at  his  mishap, 
and  he  answered  rather  shortly  that  there  was  noth- 
ing much  the  matter,  and  that  if  the  small  car  were 
to  go  on,  he  would  soon  overtake  it. 

The  artless-looking  Cecil  Jones  was  smoking  a 
cigarette  with  the  same  placid  smile  on  his  face 
which  had  irritated  Arthur  Aldington  at  the  card- 
table.  He  made  weak  suggestions  as  to  the  cause 
of  the  mishap,  and  was  treated  by  the  others  as  a 
person  who  did  not  count. 

Gerard,  however,  who  had  reason  to  suspect  that 
he  was  not  quite  so  simple  as  he  pretended  to  be, 


194  THE  DAZZLING 

went  up  to  him,  and,  seizing  a  moment  when  the 
others  were  all  bending  down  to  look  into  the  ma- 
chinery of  the  disabled  car,  said  — 

"  I  think  I've  met  you  before,  Mr.  Jones,  and 
I'm  trying  to  remember  where  it  was." 

The  young  man  turned,  with  his  sheepish  smile 
on  his  face. 

"  Have  you  ?  "  he  said.  "  I  don't  remember  you. 
Where  was  it  we  met?  " 

Gerard  felt  irritated  and  angry.  He  knew  that 
this  man  was  either  a  swindler  who  was  working  with 
Miss  Davison  in  the  dubious  paths  he  suspected,  or 
else  that  he  was  a  man  who  was  desperately  in  love 
with  her,  and  whom  she  had  twisted  round  her  little 
finger,  so  that  he  did  what  she  told  him  to  without 
question,  if  not  without  suspicion. 

To  judge  by  his  silly  face,  this  latter  was  the 
more  likely  supposition  of  the  two. 

Gerard  tried  to  take  him  by  surprist 

"  Was  it  outside  Lord  Chislehurst's  house,  on  the 
night  of  the  great  ball  he  gave  a  year  ago  ?  "  he 
asked  sharply. 

But  there  was  no  sign  of  confusion  or  intelligence 
on  Cecil  Jones'  face. 

"  Lord  Chislehurst's !  "  he  echoed  stupidly.  "  A 
year  ago !  I  don't  know  where  Lord  Chislehurst's  is. 
And  I  don't  think  I  was  in  England  a  year  ago." 

Frustrated,  Gerard  decided  to  make  a  fresh  at- 
tempt to  take  him  by  surprise. 


MISS  DAVISON  195 

"  I  daresay  I'm  wrong,"  he  said.  "  I'm  not  very 
good  at  remembering  faces.  But  you  do  remind  me 
of  a  man  I  met  a  few  days  ago,  coming  out  of  a 
police-station." 

The  words  could  be  taken  as  insulting,  but  Cecil 
Jones  was  impervious  to  insult. 

"  I  don't  think  I've  ever  been  in  a  police-station," 
he  said  simply. 

"  Not  with  Miss  Davison  ?  " 

Cecil  Jones  turned  round  so  that  he  could  stare 
blankly  into  his  questioner's  face. 

"  Miss  Davison !  "  echoed  he.  "  Do  you  mean  the 
lady  I  was  introduced  to  to-night?  " 

"  Yes,"  said  Gerard  shortly. 

A  broad  stupid  smile  spread  over  the  young  man's 
plump  face. 

"  Fancy  thinking  I  should  meet  a  smart  lady  like 
that  in  a  police-station ! "  he  said  buoyantly.  "  It 
sounds  like  the  game  of  consequences.  '  Where  they 
met ' — '  In  a  police-station.'  '  What  they  were 
doing  ' — *  Picking  pockets ! '  " 

And  he  burst  into  such  a  long  and  silly  laugh 
that  Gerard,  irritated  almost  beyond  endurance,  did 
not  dare  to  go  on  with  his  questions,  for  fear  of 
drawing  down  upon  them  the  attention  of  the  others, 
who  turned  round  to  see  what  was  the  matter. 

But  Gerard  was  more  convinced  than  ever  that 
this  innocent-looking  young  man  was  a  person  to  be 
watched;  and,  resolved  to  see  what  became  of  him 


196  THE  DAZZLING 

that  night,  he  found  an  opportunity  of  asking  Sir 
William  where  he  was  going  to  set  his  companion 
down. 

The  baronet  named  a  well-known  sporting  club. 

Arthur  Aldington  was  calling  Gerard  to  get  into 
his  car,  and  in  a  few  minutes  they  were  on  the  road 
again. 

Gerard  had  made  his  plans,  and,  as  his  friend  had 
offered  to  take  him  back  to  his  chambers  in  town,  he 
could  reckon  upon  being  in  time  for  what  he  wanted 
to  do,  if  only  the  big  car  were  delayed  sufficiently  to 
give  the  little  one  a  good  start. 

Things  turned  out  as  he  wished.  He  and  Arthur 
got  to  town  before  Sir  William;  and  Gerard  went 
straight  to  the  neighborhood  of  the  club  where  Cecil 
Jones  was  to  be  set  down,  and  was  able  to  conceal 
himself  in  the  entrance  of  a  block  of  flats  on  the 
opposite  side  of  the  road. 

Here  he  waited  for  nearly  half  an  hour,  afraid  he 
had  missed  his  man. 

At  last,  however,  he  saw  Sir  William  Gurdon's  big 
motor-car  coming  up  the  street,  and  a  few  moments 
later  it  stopped  at  the  door  of  the  club,  and  Cecil 
Jones  got  out,  shook  hands  with  Sir  William,  and 
went  into  the  building. 

The  motor-car  drove  away,  and  Gerard  remained 
on  the  watch.  Not  for  more  than  half  an  hour,  for 
at  the  end  of  that  time  Cecil  Jones  came  out  of  the 
club  building,  and  hailing  a  hansom,  got  in  and 


MISS  DAY  I  SON  197 

drove  off,  giving  a  direction  to  the  cabman  which 
Gerard  could  not  hear. 

But  he  was  far  too  much  interested  in  what  became 
of  Jones  to  let  the  matter  rest  like  that.  So  he  hailed 
a  hansom  in  his  turn,  told  the  driver  to  follow  the 
vehicle  before  him,  and  continued  the  chase  until 
Jones'  hansom  stopped  in  one  of  the  streets  off  Char- 
ing Cross  Road.  Here  Cecil  Jones  got  out,  paid  the 
cabman,  and  disappeared  from  sight  most  myster- 
iously. 

Although  Gerard  was  watching  keenly,  he  was  un- 
able to  tell  exactly  at  what  point  his  quarry  had 
disappeared.  The  street  was  rather  dark  at  this 
point,  and  there  was  a  court,  as  well  as  the  openings 
into  doorways,  to  be  examined. 

Cecil  Jones'  hansom  drove  away,  and  Gerard  paid 
his  own  cabman  and  got  down  to  continue  his  pur- 
suit on  foot,  but  in  vain.  Jones  had  disappeared  as 
completely  as  if  the  earth  had  swallowed  him  up. 

Gerard  looked  upon  this  circumstance  as  not 
merely  suspicious,  but  as  confirming  his  own  belief 
that  Jones,  instead  of  being  the  innocent  and  mild- 
eyed  victim  of  expert  gamesters  that  he  had  pre- 
tended to  be,  was  really  a  confederate  of  these  Amer- 
icans, if  they  were  swindlers,  or  a  swindler  who  in- 
tended, in  the  future,  to  make  money  out  of  the 
boastful  Denver,  and  who  began  by  posing  as  a 
harmless  dupe  or  beginner,  in  order  to  take  the 
American  off  his  guard. 


198  THE  DAZZLING 

Gerard  did  not  think  the  Van.  Santens  were  cheats ; 
their  father  being  a  man  of  good  repute,  as  well  as 
of  great  wealth,  it  was  scarcely  likely,  even  if  his  sons 
had  turned  out  loose-principled,  that  they  would  take 
to  dubious  courses  which  would  endanger  their  posi- 
tion in  society.  The  sons  of  such  a  woman  as  the 
gentle  Mrs.  Van  Santen,  too,  were  scarcely  the  sort 
of  persons  to  be  accused  of  deliberate  fraud. 

But  that  the  younger  made  money  by  his  card- 
playing,  and  that  he  boasted  of  the  fact  was  obvious ; 
and  Gerard  thought  that  such  a  man  might  very 
easily  become  the  prey  of  a  clever  card-sharper,  who 
might  begin  by  passing  himself  off  as  a  bungling 
novice,  and  end  by  making  considerable  sums  out  of 
the  swaggering  American. 

This  was  the  view  he  was  most  inclined  to  take. 
Not  for  one  moment  did  he  believe  that  the  mild-eyed 
Jones  was  really  a  victim:  he  was  confident  that  he 
had  been  with  Miss  Davison  on  the  occasion  of  the 
shop-lifting,  and  he  began  now  to  ask  himself 
whether  he  were  not  the  very  man  to  whom  he  had 
seen  her  handing  the  flashing  ornament  on  the  night 
of  Lord  Chislehurst's  ball. 

Perhaps  they  were  both  under  the  influence  of  the 
man  in  the  white  mustache.  Or  perhaps  —  but  this 
he  scarcely  believed  possible  —  Cecil  Jones  was  no 
other  than  the  military-looking  man  under  a  dis- 
guise. 

As  this  last  suggestion  came  into  his  mind,  Gerard 


MISS  DAVISON  199 

tried  to  recall  the  voice  of  the  white-haired  man, 
whom  he  had  heard  utter  a  few  words  to  Miss  Davi- 
son  before  parting  with  her  at  the  station. 

But  on  that  occasion  it  was  Rachel  who  had  spoken 
clearly  enough  to  be  heard,  while  the  man  had  so 
subdued  his  voice  that  Gerard  could  just  hear  him 
speaking,  without  being  able  to  make  out  what  he 
said.  Such  a  remembrance  as  he  retained  therefore 
of  the  sound  of  the  elderly  gentleman's  voice  Gerard 
could  not  rely  upon  as  a  help  in  his  present  diffi- 
culty. 

One  thing,  and  one  thing  only  he  was  quite  sure  of, 
Cecil  Jones,  instead  of  being  the  dupe  he  pretended 
to  be,  was  a  swindler,  and  a  very  artful  one.  Noth- 
ing else  would  explain  his  conduct  adequately.  Only 
a  swindler,  or  a  man  used  to  the  arts  of  concealment, 
would  have  contrived  so  often  to  be  seen  without  be- 
ing well  seen.  Only  a  man  who  had  something  to 
conceal  would  have  affected  not  to  know  Miss  Davi- 
son,  when,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  he  must  be  on  terms 
of  old  acquaintance  with  her.  And  only  a  very 
clever  man  could  have  succeeded  so  well  in  feigning 
absolute  stupidity  over  the  cards  as  he  had  done. 

Last  and  most  important  thing  of  all,  Gerard  was 
convinced  that,  carefully  as  he  had  concealed  himself 
while  watching  Jones,  that  astute  person  must  have 
seen  him  and  must  have  laid  his  plans  well  in  order 
to  throw  his  pursuer  off  the  track. 

Sick  at  heart,  and  not  knowing  whether  he  now 


200  THE  DAZZLING  MISS  DAVISON 

hated  Miss  Davison  for  her  duplicity  and  her  ob- 
vious association  with  undesirable  persons,  or 
whether  he  retained  his  old  longing  to  believe  in  her 
in  spite  of  everything,  Gerard  went  back  to  his 
rooms. 

He  went  to  sleep  that  night  upon  a  firm  resolve  to 
have  no  more  to  do  with  Rachel  Davison  if  he  could 
help  it;  not  to  put  himself  in  her  way  again,  and 
not  to  visit  Lady  Jennings  until  that  lady  had  for- 
gotten her  late  friend  and  protegee,  and  interested 
herself  in  someone  else. 


CHAPTER  XVI 

GERARD  was  very  greatly  assisted  in  this  determina- 
tion by  the  fact  that  he  had  received  an  invitation 
to  spend  the  month  of  August  and  the  beginning  of 
September  with  his  uncle  in  Norfolk.  And  although 
it  cannot  be  said  that  he  succeeded  in  forgetting 
Miss  Davison  while  he  was  away,  yet  in  the  enjoy- 
ment of  his  holiday  he  was  able  to  believe  that  he  had 
cured  himself  of  what  he  was  ready  to  call  his  in- 
fatuation about  a  girl  whom  he  could  not  but  look 
upon  as  better  forgotten. 

Again  and  again  he  argued  with  himself,  trying 
to  find  out  some  possible  reason  for  her  conduct 
compatible  with  her  being  as  honorable  and  noble  a 
woman  as  he  had  at  first  supposed. 

But  stern  facts  stood  in  the  way  on  all  sides,  and 
he  had  reluctantly  to  come  to  the  conclusion  that 
the  less  he  thought  about  her  the  better  it  would  be 
for  his  peace  of  mind. 

And  then,  after  six  weeks  of  pleasant  country  life, 
disturbed  indeed  now  and  then  by  recollections  of 
Rachel,  and  vague  longings  to  see  her  again  and  to 
probe  the  mysterious  depths  of  her  wayward  nature, 
he  returned  to  town,  and  straightway  fell  deeper 
into  the  toils  than  ever. 

201 


202  THE  DAZZLING 

It  happened  in  this  way.  Gerard  was  with  a 
party  of  his  country  friends  and  relations  at  the 
Earl's  Court  Exhibition  one  evening,  and  had  just 
finished  dining  with  them  at  one  of  the  restaurants, 
when,  as  he  smoked  a  cigarette  by  himself  outside, 
he  caught  sight  of  Rachel  Davison  and  Denver  Van 
Santen,  walking  slowly  together.  The  young  man 
was  talking  very  earnestly,  and  bending  down  to  look 
into  her  face,  while  Rachel,  as  far  as  Gerard  could  see, 
was  listening  to  him  without  displeasure. 

In  an  instant  all  his  good  resolutions,  his  wise 
resignation,  disappeared.  He  was  filled  with  the 
maddest  jealousy  of  the  handsome  American;  and 
no  amount  of  philosophical  sneers  at  women  availed 
him  when  he  looked  at  the  girl  who,  after  an  absence 
of  six  weeks,  seemed  to  him  ten  times  handsomer 
than  she  had  ever  looked  before. 

Her  black  dress,  of  some  clinging  material,  richly 
embroidered  with  black  chenille  and  jet,  had  long 
sleeves  and  a  vest  of  tucked  chiffon  of  the  palest 
pink ;  and  her  large  black  hat,  trimmed  with  a  cluster 
of  black  ostrich  tips  and  with  one  pale  pink  rose 
under  the  brim,  suited  her  handsome  face  to  per- 
fection. 

A  cape  of  some  soft'  black  material,  lined  with 
tucked  pink  chiffon,  completed'  her  costume,  which, 
as  usual  with  her,  was  carefully  studied  down  to  the 
well-cut,  high-heeled  black  shoes  and  black  silk  stock- 
ings, and  the  glimpse  of  a  pale  pink  underskirt 


MISS  D  AVI  SON  203 

trimmed  with  chiffon  of  the  same  color  that  was 
shown  as  she  held  up  her  dress. 

In  vain  Gerard  told  himself  that  he  was  glad  to 

O 

have  seen  her  with  Denver  Van  Santen,  that  now  he 
could  go  his  way  with  an  easy  mind,  secure  in  the 
knowledge  that  Rachel  Davison  was  merely  a  friend 
and  accomplice  of  thieves,  shop-lifters,  and  other  un- 
desirable persons,  and  that  the  very  fact  of  her  al- 
lowing herself  to  be  made  love  to  by  this  swaggering 
gamester  proved  conclusively  how  unfit  she  was  to 
be  loved  by  any  honest  man. 

The  fiercer  he  grew  as  he  told  himself  these  things, 
the  more  savagely  he  watched  the  two  as  they  saun- 
tered among  the  people,  and  at  last  joined  a  large 
group,  among  whom  Gerard  recognized  the  pale 
face  and  simple  gray  silk  gown  of  Cora  Van  Santen, 
and  the  homely  features  of  her  mother,  who,  good 
soul,  looked  more  out  of  place  than  ever,  in  her  old- 
fashioned  large  bonnet  and  heavy  dolman,  among  the 
crowds  of  well-dressed  women  around  her. 

As  before  at  the  Priory,  the  family  was  sur- 
rounded by  smart  English  people,  of  whom  Gerard 
recognized  two  or  three.  One  was  Sir  William  Gur- 
don,  who  was  talking  eagerly  to  Delia,  and  another 
was  Arthur  Aldington,  who  could  not  tear  himself 
away  from  Cora. 

Gerard  watched  them  from  a  distance,  but  did  not 
go  near  them. 

He  saw  that  Denver  could  not  leave  Rachel's  side, 


204.  THE  DAZZLING 

and  that  she,  instead  of  resenting  his  persistent  at- 
tentions, appeared  to  be  encouraging  him. 

But  the  firmness  with  which  he  told  himself  that 
he  was  glad,  and  that  now  he  could  whistle  her  off 
and  leave  her  to  her  undesirable  friends,  soon  left 
him ;  and  on  the  very  first  opportunity,  when  he  saw 
Rachel  for  a  moment  on  the  outside  of  the  crowd 
formed  by  the  Americans  and  their  friends,  he 
pounced  upon  her,  and  suddenly  presenting  himself 
like  a  brigand  rather  than  a  casually  met  friend, 
said  between  his  clenched  teeth  — 

"  I  must  speak  to  you.     I  will." 
>     He  expected  to  be  snubbed,  to  be  dismissed  more 
or  less   coldly;  but,   to  his   surprise,   Rachel  turned 
very  white,  as  she  always  did  when  excited,  and  then 
flushed  a  little,  and  said  — 

"  Very  well.  We  can  come  back  to  Mrs.  Van  San- 
ten  afterwards." 

She  walked  away  with  him  at  a  rapid  pace,  so  that 
they  were  soon  lost  to  the  sight  of  her  friends,  and 
mingling  in  the  general  crowd. 

The  night  was  fine  and  warm,  and  the  gardens 
were  full.  It  was  without  the  slightest  difficulty  that 
they  got  the  opportunity  Gerard  wanted,  of  speak- 
ing to  her  from  the  depths  of  his  heart. 

"  Why  do  you  let  that  fellow  talk  to  you  ?  Do 
you  care  for  him  ?  "  he  asked,  conscious  as  he  spoke 
that  he  was  using  a  tone  which,  considering  all  the 
circumstances,  was  as  unjustifiable  as  it  was  absurd. 


MISS  DAY  I  SON  205 

"  I  couldn't  help  his  talking  to  me,  Mr.  Buckland. 
I  was  staying  with  his  people  before  I  went  abroad 
with  my  mother,  and  I  am  visiting  them  again 
now." 

"  Do  you  care  for  him  ?  " 

"  I  like  them  all ;  and  as  for  Mr.  Denver,  he  wants 
me  to  marry  him." 

"  To  marry  him !     And  you  are  going  to  ?  " 

She  hesitated. 

"  I  haven't  given  him  any  answer  yet." 

"  Of  course  I  know  I  have  no  right  to  ask." 

He  was  trembling,  and  trying  hard  to  speak  in  a 
quiet  and  cool  tone.  He  was  conscious  that,  if  his 
suspicions  of  her  were  well  founded,  there  was  noth- 
ing in  the  least  extraordinary  in  her  marrying  the 
swaggering  American,  who,  for  that  matter,  was 
certainly  what  would  have  been  called  a  good  match, 
since  he  was  the  son  of  a  rich  man. 

But  the  puzzle  of  the  matter  was  that,  knowing 
all  that  he  knew,  and  suspecting  all  that  he  sus- 
pected, Gerard  felt  that  she  was  too  good  to  throw 
herself  away  upon  this  fellow,  whom  he  believed  to 
be  guilty  of  winning  money  from  his  guests,  at  least 
by  dint  of  superior  skill  with  the  cards,  if  not  by 
something  less  creditable. 

Away  from  her  he  might  and  did  believe  in  the 
possibility  of  her  complicity  in  crime;  when  in  her 
presence  he  felt  again  that  she  was  incapable  of  any- 
dishonorable  or  criminal. 


206  THE  DAZZLING 

Rachel  drew  a  soft  little  sigh,  which  disarmed  him 
completely.  If  he  had  thought  her  capable  of 
deceit,  of  guilt  a  moment  before,  that  sigh  made  him 
feel  ashamed  of  such  thoughts.  He  turned  to  her 
quickly.  They  were  in  a  dark  part  of  the  gardens, 
where,  standing  beside  her,  with  his  face  away  from 
the  light,  he  could  speak  at  his  ease. 

"  Rachel,"  he  said,  "  I  don't  believe  you  care  for 
this  fellow ;  I  don't  believe  you  would  marry  him. 
Will  you  marry  me  ?  " 

As  had  happened  more  than  once  before,  the  sud- 
den betrayal  of  his  tenderness  softened  and  unnerved 
her. 

"  Oh,  how  can  you  ask  me  ?  "  she  burst  out,  in  a 
hoarse  whisper.  "  Thinking  as  you  do  of  me,  why 
do  you  do  it?  It's  impossible  that  you  can  care  for 
me,  impossible  that  you  mean  what  you  say." 

The  words,  as  she  uttered  them,  sent  shock  after 
shock  through  him.  At  one  moment  her  heart-rend- 
ing tones  made  him  feel  smitten  with  remorse  for 
doubting  her;  the  next,  a  sort  of  shame,  of  humilia- 
tion in  her  voice  revived  his  worst  fears.  He  stood 
silent  beside  her  for  a  space,  unable  to  reply. 

A  smothered  sob  from  her  loosened  his  tongue. 
Keeping  quite  still,  so  that  a  person  might  have 
passed  close  to  them  without  noticing  how  vital  was 
the  subject  of  their  conversation,  how  deeply  moved 
they  both  were,  he  said  — 

"  How  do  you  know  what  I  think  ?    Isn't  it  enough 


MISS  DAY  I  SON  207 

for  you  that  I  tell  you  I  love  you,  that  I  ask  you 
to  be  my  wife?  Rachel  you  are  miserable.  You 
go  and  stay  with  these  people,  but  you  don't  care 
for  them;  you  listen  to  this  man,  but  you  don't  like 
him,  you  never  could  like  him.  Why  do  you  pretend 
to?  Don't  tell  me  you  mean  to  marry  him:  I  know 
better.  You  don't  love  him,  and  you  don't  trust 
him:  you  can't.  But  you've  sometimes  spoken,  to 
me  and  to  others,  as  if  you  did  care  a  little  for  me. 
Won't  you  give  up  this  feverish,  miserable  life  that 
you  are  leading?  Won't  you  be  my  wife,  and  rest 
and  forget  it  all?  You  won't  make  so  much  money 
as  you  are  doing  now.  You  won't  be  able  for  a  time 
at  any  rate,  to  wear  such  beautiful  dresses  as  you 
do  now;  but  you  would  be  happier.  I'm  not  very 
poor,  and  I  love  you,  in  spite  of  myself,  in  spite  of 
—  everything.  Will  you  give  it  all  up,  and  give  up 
these  dubious  American  people,  and  learn  to  be 
happy?  I  could  teach  you,  Rachel,  you  know  I 
could." 

She  was  moved,  as  she  so  easily  was  by  his 
passionate  attempts  to  solve  the  mystery  of  her 
life. 

But  she  kept  her  self-control,  and  shook  her  head. 

"  Don't  ask  me,"  she  said,  in  a  tremulous  whisper ; 
"  it's  of  no  use.  I  can  only  say  one  thing :  no,  no, 
no." 

"  Why  must  you  say  that,  if  you  feel  that  you 
would  like  to  say  something  else,  Rachel?  Listen. 


208  THE  DAZZLING 

I  know  you  are  acting  under  orders.  I  know  you 
are  leading  a  life  you  hate,  and  that  you  are  doing 
it  because  you  are  under  the  influence  of  a  will 
stronger  than  your  own.  I  know  that  you  wish  you 
could  break  away  from  it,  that  you  would  give  the 
world  to  be  free.  And  I  know  that  something 
stronger  than  yourself  holds  you  down  and  binds 
you,  and  forces  you  into  ways  that  torture  you,  and 
into  a  life  that  is  a  living  tomb  for  all  that  is  best 
in  you.  Rachel,  Rachel,  tear  yourself  away  from  it 
—  break  loose;  say  you  will  be  free,  and  with  my 
help  you  will  be." 

His  words  had  the  most  extraordinary  effect  upon 
the  girl.  At  the  first  mention  of  the  superior  power 
that  held  her  in  bondage,  a  violent  convulsion  seemed 
to  pass  through  her  frame,  and  though  she  uttered 
no  sound,  he  knew  that  the  unexpected  blow  had 
struck  home.  Then  she  listened  rigidly  to  the  rest 
of  his  passionate  speech,  seeming  to  drink  in  his 
words  with  avidity,  to  find  some  painful,  piteous 
pleasure  in  the  expression  of  his  belief,  his  entreaties. 
When  he  had  let  his  voice  die  away  and  was  waiting 
for  her  answer,  she  did  not  look  at  him,  but  he  could 
hear  her  drawing  her  breath  as  if  with  difficulty,  and 
he  knew  that  she  was  going  through  a  great,  a  pitiful 
struggle  with  herself. 

He  whispered  again  — 

"  Rachel,  won't  you  do  it  ?  Won't  you  get  free, 
and  be  my  wife  ?  " 


MISS  DAY  I  SON  209 

Then  she  turned  a  startled  face  towards  him  in 
the  half-darkness. 

"  I  can't  marry  you,  Mr.  Buckland,"  she  said 
tremulously.  "  I  don't  deny  I'm  gratified  by  the 
feeling  you  have  for  me,  though  I  know  I  don't  a 
bit  deserve  it.  Believe  me,  you  would  be  miserable 
if  I  were  to  listen  to  you:  I  can  imagine  nothing 
more  terrible  for  you  than  to  have  a  wife  like  me, 
with  a  capricious  and  headstrong  temper,  and  a  will 
that  leads  her  into  all  sorts  of  ways  which  she  would 
perhaps  have  done  better  to  avoid.  So  I  thank  you, 
but  I  can  only  give  you  one  answer." 

He  came  a  little  nearer. 

"Rachel,"  he  said,  "think  again.  Think  it  all 
over  quietly  —  to-night  —  by  yourself,  and  then 
answer  me  afterwards.  Think  whether  you  would 
not  rather  give  up  the  life  that  makes  you  miserable, 
for  the  life  which  would  make  you  happy.  Don't 
answer  me  now ;  think  it  over  first.  Will  you  ?  " 

She  hesitated.  This  proud,  headstrong  girl  was 
always  easily  moved  as  a  child  when  once  he  touched 
the  right  chord,  as  he  seemed  to  be  able  to  do  at 
will. 

"  Yes,  yes,  I  will,"  she  said,  in  a  timid  tone,  like 
a  very,  very  young  girl  confronted  by  a  difficult 
choice ;  "  but  I'm  afraid  — " 

"  Don't  be  afraid  of  anything  yet  Weigh  what 
I've  said  against  what  others  say,  and  decide  which 
offers  you  the  best  chance  of  Happiness." 


210  THE  DAZZLING  MISS  DAVISON 

There  was  a  short  silence,  Rachel  trembling  and 
not  looking  at  him,  he  watching  her  with  tender,  im- 
ploring eyes. 

Suddenly  there  appeared  between  them  the  figure 
of  Denver  Van  Santen,  and  Gerard  started  back  a 
step  with  a  shock. 

"  Why,  my  dear  girl,"  said  the  swaggering  Amer- 
ican, "  I  didn't  know  what  had  become  of  you.  Did 
you  mean  to  give  me  the  slip  ?  " 

As  he  spoke,  he  offered  her  his  arm  with  an  air 
of  confident  devotion  which  nettled  Gerard  im- 
mensely. 

And  without  so  much  as  a  glance  at  the  timid,  pas- 
sionate English  lover,  whose  look  and  attitude  were 
eloquently  expressive  of  his  feelings,  Miss  Davison 
put  her  hand  caressingly  through  Denver's  proffered 
arm. 

"  Of  course  I  didn't,"  she  said,  in  a  very  much 
more  openly  affectionate  tone  than  she  had  ever  used 
to  Gerard.  "  How  could  you  think  I  would  do  such 
a  thing,  Denver?  " 

Raising  his  hat  mechanically,  Gerard  stepped  back, 
with  a  look  on  his  face  as  if  he  had  been  stabbed 
to  the  heart. 


CHAPTER  XVII 

GERAED  could  scarcely  believe  his  eyes  when  he  saw 
how  completely  Miss  Davison  appeared  to  have  for- 
gotten his  very  existence  the  moment  the  American 
came  up. 

Denver,  on  his  side,  treated  his  rival  as  if  he  had 
never  seen  him  before.  Gerard  thought,  indeed,  that 
the  young  American  had  perhaps  failed  to  recognize 
him.  For  neither  he  nor  Rachel  had  been  speaking 
for  some  moments  when  they  were  startled  by  the 
figure  appearing  between  them. 

But  that  Miss  Davison  should  behave  with  such 
marked  incivility  puzzled  and  bewildered  him.  Not 
the  usual  gracious  smile  and  bow  of  farewell  did  she 
vouchsafe  him  as  she  walked  away,  listening  amiably 
to  the  eager  talk  of  the  American,  smiling  in  answer 
to  his  remarks,  and  behaving  exactly  as  if  she  were 
enjoying  his  society  to  the  utmost. 

Gerard  wondered  what  it  meant.  Was  she  a 
coquette?  She  had  never  given  the  least  sign  of  it 
with  him,  having  always  been  straightforward  even 
in  her  reticence,  not  pretending  that  there  was  no 
mystery  in  her  way  of  life,  but  treating  it  as  one 
that  she  could  not  clear  up,  and  that  she  wished  him 
to  leave  unsolved  also. 


THE  DAZZLING 

Now,  however,  she  was  certainly  behaving  as  if 
she  were  encouraging  the  young  American ;  she  was 
animated,  charming,  sweet,  and  she  was  evidently 
aware  that  he  was  fascinated,  and  pleased  by  the 
fact. 

Yet  she  had  but  a  moment  before  been  touched, 
tender,  serious,  moved  by  Gerard's  emotion,  and 
ready  to  consent  to  think  over  the  passionate  avowal 
which  he  had  made. 

Now  it  looked  as  if  she  had  never  had  a  serious 
thought  in  her  life.  Gerard  could  hear  her  rippling 
laugh,  could  see  the  lively  movements  of  her  hand 
and  head,  which  showed  that  she  was  talking  as 
eagerly  to  Denver  as  he  to  her. 

He  watched  them  until  they  had  almost  disap- 
peared, and  then  he  suddenly  set  his  teeth  and  re- 
solved not  to  be  thrown  off  in  this  manner.  He 
would  follow  them,  go  up  to  the  group  of  which 
they  formed  part,  join  them  and  the  rest  of  the  Van 
Santens,  and  find  out,  if  he  could,  whether  Denver 
was  looked  upon  as  the  accepted  lover  he  certainly 
appeared  to  think  himself. 

He  knew  very  well,  as  he  approached  the  group 
of  which  the  primly  dressed  and  gentle  old  New  Eng- 
land woman  formed  the  center,  that  he  was  very  fool- 
ish to  come  so  near  the  candle,  and  that  he  was 
risking  the  singeing  of  his  wings.  But  Miss  Davi- 
son's  attraction  for  him  was  stronger  than  his  pru- 
dence, and  a  few  moments  after  she  had  gone  away 


MISS  DAVISON  213 

with  Denver,  Gerard  found  himself  talking  to  old 
Mrs.  Van  Santen,  and  listening  to  Cora  and  Arthur 
Aldington  as  they  flirted  merrily  on  one  side  of  him, 
and  to  Miss  Davison  and  Denver,  as  they  talked 
eagerly  and  apparently  with  great  seriousness,  on  the 
other. 

Delia  Van  Santen,  watchful  and  tactful  as  ever, 
was  the  least  talkative  of  the  party,  over  whom  she 
kept  a  watchful  eye,  ever  ready  to  avert  discord  and 
to  put  in  a  pleasant  word  if  disputes  threatened  or 
if  conversation  languished. 

Only  one  member  of  the  family  was  missing:  this 
was  Harry  Van  Santen,  the  elder  brother,  and  in 
Gerard's  opinion,  by  far  the  least  prepossessing 
member  of  the  family.  He  was  at  his  club,  the 
others  explained;  and  nobody  appeared  to  miss 
him. 

Miss  Davison  did  not  turn  once  in  Gerard's  direc- 
tion, or  appear  conscious  that  he  had  joined  the 
party.  She  seemed  to  have  eyes  for  no  one  but 
Denver,  and  it  was  impossible  to  doubt  that,  so  far 
from  being  disposed  to  resent  the  attentions  of  the 
young  American,  she  was  doing  her  best  to  attract 
him,  and  succeeding  perfectly  in  the  attempt. 

Nobody  indeed  appeared  to  have  the  least  doubt 
of  what  was  going  on;  and  Arthur  Aldington,  dur- 
ing one  of  the  rare  intervals  when  he  was  not  en- 
grossed with  Cora,  laughed  as  he  looked  in  the  direc- 
tion of  the  two,  and  remarked  to  Gerard  that  there 


214  THE  DAZZLING 

was  little  doubt  that  America  was  going  to  carry  off 
one  of  our  English  beauties. 

Gerard  could  not  control  all  show  of  his  indigna- 
tion at  the  suggestion. 

"  She's  only  flirting  with  him,'*  he  said. 

Arthur  laughed  dryly. 

"  It's  more  than  that,  I  think,  and  so  do  the  rest 
of  the  family.  Ask  Mrs.  Van  Santen." 

Indeed  the  old  lady  had  been  beaming  benevolently 
upon  the  young  people  for  some  time,  as  Gerard 
knew.  And  the  knowledge  that  Rachel  was  thus 
openly  avowing  her  preference  for  and  encourage- 
ment of  the  man  whom  he  considered  a  "  bounder  " 
oppressed  and  irritated  him  in  equal  degree. 

In  vain  he  struggled  against  his  uneasiness,  his 
anger.  And  at  last,  afraid  of  trusting  himself 
among  the  sharp  eyes  which  could,  he  did  not  doubt, 
fathom  the  distress  he  was  suffering,  he  withdrew 
from  the  party,  and  rejoined  his  own. 

But  the  evening  was  heavy  and  gloomy  for  him, 
and  he  felt  that  his  very  presence  was  casting  depres- 
sion over  his  friends,  so  he  presently  excused  him- 
self, and  leaving  them,  was  hurrying  out  of  the 
grounds,  when  he  chanced  to  catch  sight  of  the 
Americans  once  more,  and  saw  Rachel,  still  with  Den- 
ver in  close  attendance,  but  with  a  look  in  her  eyes 
which  he  recognized  as  no  longer  one  of  idle  amuse- 
ment, but  of  acute  anxiety. 

A  moment  later,   as  he  was   close  to   the   gates, 


MISS  D  AVI  SON  215 

he  felt  a  touch  on  his  arm,  and  looking  round,  found 
Arthur  Aldington  beside  him. 

"  One  moment,  Buckland,  Miss  Davison  sent  me 
to  say  she  would  like  to  speak  to  you  before  you  go 
away.  If  you'll  wait  near  the  seat  by  the  trees 
over  there,  she'll  find  an  opportunity  of  escaping, 
and  I'll  bring  her  there  myself." 

Gerard  hesitated. 

"  She  won't  be  able  to  get  rid  of  that  Van  Santen," 
said  he  sullenly,  as  he  glanced  behind  him. 

"  Trust  a  woman  —  especially  a  woman  like 
Rachel  —  for  getting  rid  of  anyone  she  wants  to 
get  rid  of,"  said  Arthur.  "  And  really  my  own 
opinion  is  that  it  would  be  an  awful  thing  for  her 
if  she  were  to  think  seriously  of  that  bounder." 

Gerard  echoed  the  word  inquiringly. 

Arthur  nodded. 

"  Men  don't  like  the  fellow,"  he  explained.  "  He's 
too  noisy,  too  —  too  overbearing ;  too  much  side  and 
too  much  swagger.  It's  amazing  to  everybody  that 
a  well-bred  woman  like  Miss  Davison  should  put  up 
with  him  for  a  moment.  It's  the  money,  I  suppose. 
Well,  will  you  come?" 

Gerard  nodded  silently.  It  was  of  no  use  to  try 
to  be  wise  where  Rachel  was  concerned.  He  could 
only  hope  to  escape  being  utterly  foolish,  and  with- 
out much  prospect  of  success. 

Two  minutes  later  he  was  waiting  at  the  appointed 
spot,  and  in  another  two  minutes  Rachel  herself, 


216  THE  DAZZLING 

with  Arthur  Aldington,  came  up  and  met  him  there. 
Arthur  disappeared  with  a  few  words  from  Rachel, 
who  arranged  that  he  should  fetch  her  in  ten  minutes 
and  take  her  back  to  the  Van  Santens,  and  then  she 
and  Gerard  were  once  more  alone  together. 

The  change  in  her  was  so  sudden,  so  great,  that 
he  could  scarcely  believe  his  eyes.  Every  trace  of 
the  brilliant  manner,  of  the  laughing  face,  the  light, 
easy  manner,  the  slight  affectation,  which  had  dis- 
tinguished her  tone  and  manner  but  half  an  hour  ago, 
when  she  was  with  Denver  and  among  the  rest,  had 
disappeared,  and  given  place  to  a  demeanor  touch- 
ing in  its  grave  sadness. 

"  Mr.  Buckland,"  she  began  quite  simply,  as  soon 
as  Arthur  was  out  of  earshot,  "  you  must  think  me 
a  strange  creature,  I'm  afraid." 

"  I  don't  know  what  to  think  of  you,"  he  replied 
desperately.  "  You  seem  to  be,  not  one  or  two,  but 
half  a  dozen  women ;  and  they're  all  charming, 
though  some  of  them  —  might  well  break  a  man's 
heart." 

"  I  don't  wan't  to  break  yours,  or  any  man's," 
she  said  simply. 

"  You  must  break  mine  or  Van  Santen's,"  he  said 
dryly,  "  if  you  go  on  acting  as  you've  done  this 
evening,  being  one  woman,  and  a  very  sweet  though 
puzzling  one,  to  me,  and  quite  another,  a  brilliant, 
charming  one,  to  him.  How  am  I  to  believe  that  you 
like  one  of  us  better  than  the  other?  You  were  cer- 


MISS  DAY  I  SON  217 

tainly  doing  your  best  to  make  him  think  he  was  the 
man  you  liked.  I  don't  want  you  to  make  a  fool 
of  me  like  that.  I  can't  deny  that  you  could  if  you 
wished." 

She  sighed  softly. 

"  I'm  not  going  to  tell  you  I  like  you,"  she  said 
gently.  "  You  are  welcome,  if  you  wish,  to  believe 
I  don't  care  in  the  least." 

"  No,  no,  I'd  rather  you  should  pretend  you  cared 
for  me  —  at  least,  I  think  I'd  rather !  "  stammered 
poor  Gerard,  who  was  struggling  against  the  impulse 
to  yield  himself  wholly  to  the  personal  fascination 
she  exercised  over  him. 

She  looked  at  him  steadily,  but  with  eyes  so  mourn- 
ful, so  full  of  some  deep-seated  distress,  that  he  was 
seized  by  an  overpowering  desire  to  know  what  the 
secret  was  which  made  her  such  a  tantalizing,  madden- 
ing mystery.  Why  was  she  so  sweet  to  him,  after 
having  been  but  a  short  time  before  in  his  very  pres- 
ence, just  as  irresistible,  in  a  wholly  different  fashion, 
to  another  man  ? 

Was  she  a  coquette,  after  all?  Was  she  only  try- 
ing to  show  her  power,  by  bringing  to  her  feet  a 
man  whom  she  had  recently  disgusted  by  her  open 
encouragement  of  another? 

Miss  Davison  read  his  thoughts. 

"  I  don't  pretend  —  to  you,"  she  said  simply.  *'  I 
don't  tell  you  I  care  for  you.  You  can  think,  if  you 
likeu  that  I  like  someone  else  better." 


218  THE  DAZZLING 

"  But  I  don't  like  to  think  so !  "  burst  out  poor 
Gerard. 

She  went  on  imperturbably. 

"  You  may  think,  if  you  like,  that,  overpowered, 
dazzled  by  the  thought  of  marrying  a  rich  man,  and 
being  out  of  reach  of  poverty,  and  saved  from  the 
necessity  of  hard  and  distasteful  work  any  longer,  I 
have  decided  to  encourage  the  attentions  of  a  man 
who  is  deeply  in  love  with  me,  and  who  could  un- 
doubtedly enable  me,  if  I  married  him,  to  live  an 
easy  and  leisurely  life.  You  may  think,  if  you  like, 
that  I  am  quite  at  liberty  to  do  this,  and  that  it  is 
the  wisest  thing  I  could  do.  You  may  think,  too, 
if  you  please,  that  this  rich  man  is  not  exactly  the 
sort  of  man  I  should  have  chosen  if  I  had  been  quite 
free  to  choose,  but  that,  not  being  quite  free,  I  was 
justified  in  encouraging,  and  in  accepting  him." 

"  But  are  you  sure  he  is  rich,  and  that  he  is  not 
merely  dependent  upon  the  pleasure  or  caprice  of 
a  father  who  may,  or  may  not,  approve  of  him  and 
intend  to  leave  him  well  off?  "  argued  poor  Gerard 
earnestly.  "  Miss  Davison,  believe  me,  I  wouldn't 
be  selfish  and  mean  enough  to  say  a  word  against  this 
young  Van  Santen  if  I  could  think  him  worthy  of 
you.  Believe  me,  though  I  own  I'm  jealous  of  him, 
I  wouldn't  show  unworthy  or  despicable  jealousy  of 
him  or  of  any  man.  But  it  has  occurred  to  me  to 
doubt  whether  he  is  tha  sort  of  man  you  ought  to 
trust  yourself  with.  And  I  should  like,  if  I  may 


MISS  DAVISON  219 

dare,  to  beg  you  not  to  definitely  give  your  promise 
to  marry  him  until  his  father  has  arrived  in  England, 
and  until  you've  made  sure  that  the  young  ones  are 
really  going  to  be  well  off." 

Miss  Davison  smiled  faintly. 

"  Do  you  want  me  to  make  sure  of  my  bargain 
then,  before  I  sign  ?  "  she  asked. 

"  Yes,"  answered  he  steadily,  "  I  do.  I  know  I'm 
jealous:  I  own  it.  I  think  this  Denver  Van  Santen 
is  not  good  enough  for  you.  But  I  understand  your 
point  of  view,  and  I  sympathize  with  you ;  and  there- 
fore, I  say,  if  as  I  suppose,  you  propose  to  marry 
this  man,  not  because  you  care  particularly  about 
him,  but  because  he  is  well  off  and  can  make  life 
easier  for  you,  do  not  be  in  too  great  a  hurry  over  it : 
make  sure,  before  you  promise,  that  the  other  side 
is  in  a  situation  to  bring  to  the  bargain  all  you  ex- 
pect of  it.  It  sounds  a  cold-blooded  way  of  speak- 
ing, I  know,  but,  believe  me,  coldness  is  the  last 
thing  you  need  accuse  me  of  where  you  are  con- 
cerned." 

Miss  Davison  listened  with  the  same  air  of  pro- 
found and  serious  interest  that  she  had  given  to  him 
earlier  in  the  evening. 

"  You're  quite  right,"  she  said  at  last.  "  Then 
whatever  happens,  I  shall  take  your  advice,  and  I 
shan't  definitely  accept  Denver  until  I've  seen  his 
father." 

Gerard  assented  eagerly. 


220  THE  DAZZLING 

"  Yes,  that's  what  I  meant,"  he  said  quickly.  "  If 
old  Van  Santen,  whom  everybody  seems  to  speak  well 
of,  should  agree  to  the  match,  and  if  you  should  like 
him  and  get  on  well  with  him,  then  I  say  you  might 
have  a  chance  of  happiness  with  the  son  ;  but  — " 

He  stopped. 

"But  what?" 

Gerard  looked  up,  half  shyly. 

"  I  don't  think  it  would  become  me  to  say  any 
more,"  he  said  frankly,  "  considering,  as  I've  told 
you,  that  I'm  jealous." 

Again  a  faint  smile  flickered  over  Rachel's  face, 
then,  in  a  sweet,  low  voice,  she  said  — 

"  I  like  you  to  be  jealous,  Mr.  Buckland." 

But  he  burst  out  passionately  — 

"  Don't.  You  have  no  right  to  use  me  like  this, 
no  right  to  send  for  me  to  talk  about  your  intended 
marriage  with  another  man,  and  then  —  and  then  — 
to  try  —  to  try  — " 

"  To  try  to  make  you  see  that  I'm  grateful  for 
the  interest  you've  taken  in  me,  that  I  appreciate 
your  generosity,  that  I  take  pleasure  in  your  society? 
Is  that  what  I  have  no  right  to  do,  Mr.  Buck- 
land?  " 

But  Gerard  would  not  be  brow-beaten.  He  stuck" 
to  his  guns. 

"  Yes,"  he  said  stoutly,  "  that's  what  I  contend. 
If  you,  knowing  as  you  do  that  I'm  madly  in  love 
with  you,  that  I've  loved  you  through  everything, 


MISS  DAVISON 

in  the  face  of  mysteries  and  secrets  which  were  enough 
to  make  me  decide  never  to  speak  to  you  again,  in 
the  face  of  —  other  things  of  which  I  scarcely  dare 
speak  —  if  you,  knowing  all  this,  as  I  say,  have  sent 
for  me  only  to  tell  me  you're  grateful  for  my  interest 
and  all  the  rest  of  it,  you're  treating  me  badly.  You 
have  no  right  to  try  to  make  me  think  of  you  more 
than  I  do,  no  right  even  to  be  kind,  unless  —  un- 
less — " 

He  paused,  and  she  answered  steadily  — 

"  Unless  I'm  prepared  to  give  up  my  career,  my 
position,  my  friends,  even,  all  for  you?  Is  that  what 
you  mean  ?  " 

She  said  this  with  raised  eyebrows,  as  if  expecting 
him  to  receive  her  speech  with  a  denial;  but  he  took 
up  the  challenge  at  once. 

"  Yes,"  he  said,  "  that,  I  suppose,  is  what  I  do 
mean.  I  don't  think  you  ought  to  encourage  a  man 
to  the  extent  you  are  encouraging  that  young  Van 
Santen,  and  to  try  to  encourage  me  —  at  the  same 
time.  It  doesn't  matter  when  a  girl  plays  that  sort 
of  game  with  men  who  don't  really  care  for  her. 
But  this  Yankee  fellow  appears  to  be  in  earnest,  and 
by  Jove!  you  can't  pretend  to  know  that  I'm  not. 
You  ought  to  make  up  your  mind,  and  throw  over 
the  one,  and  stick  to  the  other." 

"  I  don't  think  you  appreciate  the  difficulty  of  my 
position,  Mr.  Buckland." 

"I  don't  suppose  I  do.     How  can  I?     You  don't 


THE  DAZZLING 

take  me  into  your  confidence.  And  I'm  ready  to  do 
without  that.  All  I  ask  is  that  you  should  decide 
for  your  own  happiness.  If  you  think  you  will  be 
happier  with  Van  Santen  for  a  husband  than  with 
me,  why  marry  him  and  be  happy;  but  I  don't  be- 
lieve, somehow,  that  you  do  think  that.  I  don't  think 
you  would  send  for  me  if  you  had  nothing  but  that 
to  tell  me.  Come,  Rachel,  why  did  you  send  for  me? 
What  had  you  to  tell  me?  " 

Miss  Davison's  handsome  face  quivered. 

"  I  almost  wish,"  she  said,  "  now,  that  I  hadn't 
sent  for  you;  but — "  Suddenly  her  face  changed, 
and  he  saw  a  look  of  intense  pain  pass  over  it.  "  I 
couldn't  bear  that  —  you  should  think  —  I  didn't 
care.  And  —  only  I  don't  want  you  to  ask  me  why 
—  I  didn't  dare  to  offend  Denver  by  letting  him  think 
I  cared  for  you." 

"  Still,  you  need  not  have  turned  away  from  me 
as  you  did,  without  a  word.  You  might  have  given 
me  a  word,  a  smile,  a  look." 

Rachel's  breath  came  quickly,  her  face  softened, 
her  eyes  grew  tender,  and  she  whispered  — 

"  I  didn't  dare!" 

The  words  were  an  admission,  and  in  a  moment 
Gerard  was  close  beside  her,  looking  into  her  face, 
begging  her  not  to  play  with  him. 

"  You  love  me,  Rachel,  you  love  me,  and  not  this 
fellow!  Why  don't  you  own  it?  Why  can't  you 
throw,  him  over,  and  tell  him  and  everyone  that  you 


MISS  D  AVI  SON  223 

care  for  me,  that  you're  going  to  marry  me?  Don't 
worry  your  head  about  your  career,  about  money, 
about  anything.  I  can't  make  you  rich  at  once,  but 
I'm  not  quite  a  pauper  even  now.  You  will  have  to 
make  some  sacrifices,  but  they  won't  be  so  hard. 
Your  mother  will  not  mind  living  in  a  smaller  house, 
and  your  sister  has  had  a  year's  schooling,  and  Lady 
Jennings  will  take  charge  of  her,  and  bring  her  out 
and  all  that.  Even  for  your  family  there's  no  need 
for  you  to  sacrifice  your  own  happiness  any  longer. 
Rachel,  Rachel,  say  that  you  will  cut  yourself  off 
from  all  these  people  whom  you  hate  and  whom  you 
are  afraid  of,  and  make  up  your  mind  to  be  happy." 

She  was  deeply  moved  by  his  passionate  words,  and 
her  tears  were  falling  fast.  But  she  was  steadfast, 
even  in  her  sorrow. 

"  I  can't,"  she  said.  "  You  mustn't  ask  me  why, 
but  I  can't.  I  know  I've  been  selfish  to  ask  you  to 
come  to  speak  to  me,  but  I  couldn't  let  you  go  like 
that  —  thinking  I  was  like  a  stone.  I'm  involved  — 
too  deeply  to  get  free.  There  —  that's  all  I  dare  tell 
you.  And  now  you  had  better  try  to  forget  me ;  it's 
the  only  thing  to  do.  I've  thought  it  over,  indeed, 
and  I  can't  get  free,  and  I  can't  move  independently." 

This  admission  passionately  uttered,  was  a  terrible 
shock  to  Gerard. 

"  But  what  will  the  end  be  —  it  must  have  an 
end?  "  he  asked  quickly. 

She  turned  upon  him  a  look  of  intense  alarm. 


THE  DAZZLING 

"  An  end !     What  do  you  mean  ?  " 

He  spoke  out  boldly  — 

"  You  don't  suppose  it  can  go  on  forever?  That 
the  mystery  will  never  be  found  out?  That  you  can 
go  on  forever  escaping  by  the  skin  of  your  teeth?  " 

A  faint  smile,  confident  if  not  very  happy,  ap- 
peared on  her  features. 

"  I'm  in  clever  hands,  very  clever  hands,"  she  said. 

"  But  the  work  revolts  you !  It's  horrible  — 
shocking ! " 

"  Well,  we  won't  discuss  that  now.  I've  told  you 
before  all  that  I  could  tell  you  about  it.  There's 
Arthur  coming  for  me.  I  must  go." 

"  One  moment.  Tell  me  honestly :  would  you  give 
everything  up  and  marry  me,  if  you  could?  " 

She  hesitated. 

"  I  don't  know  whether  I  dare  answer  you  truly ; 
but  I  will  —  if  you  will  promise  to  take  no  advantage 
of  what  I  say." 

"  I  promise." 

"  Well  then,  yes,  I  would  throw  over  everything  — > 
if  I  could." 

He  touched  her  arm  trembling  and  hoarse. 

"  Now  promise  me  just  this,  that  you  will  make  one 
appeal  —  one  strong  appeal  —  this  week,  at  once, 
and  try  to  get  free ;  and  let  me  know  if  you  succeed. 
You  will,  if  your  heart  is  set  on  it,  I  know." 

She  shook  her  head  drearily. 

"  You  overrate  my  determination,  my  strength  of 


MISS  D  AVI  SON  225 

will,  all  the  fine  and  noble  qualities  which,  somehow  or 
other,  you  still  contrive  to  imagine  in  me,"  said  she 
gently.  "  I  have  no  such  force  of  character  as  you 
think.  I'm  a  poor,  wretched  puppet,  dancing  to  any- 
one who  is  clever  enough  to  play  the  right  tune. 
Don't  hope,  don't  hope." 

"  I  do  hope,  all  the  same,"  cried  he  passionately, 
and  hurriedly,  as  Arthur,  perceiving  that  he  was 
coming  too  soon,  delayed  a  little,  and  lingered  just 
out  of  earshot.  "  I  want  you  to  make  this  appeal, 
and  to  let  me  know  the  result.  Will  you?  Will 
you?" 

She  smiled  sadly. 

"  I  can  tell  you  the  result  already,"  said  she  de- 
spondently ;  "  but  if  you  like,  I  will  make  it." 

He  had  no  time  to  say  more,  for  Arthur  had 
joined  them,  rather  sheepishly,  rather  bewildered. 
He  carried  Miss  Davison  back  to  her  friends,  and  then 
caught  Gerard  up  as  he  was  leaving  the  grounds, 
having  made  him  a  sign  that  he  wanted  a  word  with 
him. 

As  soon  as  the  two  young  men  met,  Arthur 
spoke  — 

"  Rachel  is  treating  you  badly,"  said  he. 

"  How  do  you  mean  ?  " 

"  Well,  she's  encouraging  you,  I  could  see  by  her 
looks,  and  yours.  But  —  she's  engaged  to  Denver 
Van  Santen  all  the  time." 

Gerard  was  startled. 


226  THE  DAZZLING  MISS  DAVISON 

"  Are  you  sure?  " 

"  Denver  says  so  —  so  do  the  family.  It's  looked 
upon  as  settled." 

Gerard  laughed  harshly ;  but  he  would  not  be- 
lieve. 

"  They  may  think  so,  but  they  may  make  too  sure," 
he  said. 

Arthur  Aldington  threw  at  him  a  compassionate 
look,  as  one  does  at  a  man,  once  intelligent  and 
amiable,  who  has  just  been  declared  a  lunatic.  But 
the  words  which  rose  to  his  lips,  words  of  congratula- 
tion to  Gerard  on  his  escape,  he  thought  it  wiser  not 
to  utter. 


CHAPTER  XVIII 

AT  the  end  of  a  week  Gerard  received  a  letter  ad- 
dressed in  a  hand-writing  which  he  did  not  know,  but 
which  he  felt  sure  was  that  of  Rachel  Davison.  The 
very  envelope  and  note  paper  seemed,  he  thought,  to 
be  characteristic  of  her. 

The  letter  itself  was  very  short. 

"  DEAR  MR.  BUCKLAND, — I  have  kept  my  word 
to  you.  I  have  tried,  and  I  have  failed,  as  I  said  I 
should.  Burn  this,  please. —  RACHEL." 

Gerard  looked  long  at  the  words,  which  seemed  to 
burn  into  his  brain.  He  knew  what  misery  of  effort 
and  failure  they  recorded.  But  he  did  not  comply 
with  her  command  and  burn  the  letter.  He  folded  it 
carefully  again,  and  treasured  it  as  he  might  have 
done  a  communication  from  a  dear  friend.  It  seemed 
to  him  to  be  the  knell  of  all  his  hopes. 

But  in  spite  of  the  despair  with  which  the  letter 
and  his  knowledge  of  some  of  the  facts  of  Rachel's 
position  inspired  him,  he  did  not  cease  to  think  about 
her,  and  to  wonder  if  there  were  no  possible  means 
of  freeing  her  from  the  unseen  hands  which  were 

227 


228  THE  DAZZLING 

holding  her  prisoner.  If  He  had  believed  Denver  to 
be  an  honorable  man,  he  would  have  stifled  his  own 
feelings,  and  would  have  found  consolation  in  know- 
ing that,  by  marrying  him,  she  would  free  herself  at 
once  from  the  thraldom  in  which  she  was  held. 

But  unhappily,  he  could  not  feel  sure  that  Denver 
himself  was  honest,  and  his  memories  of  the  day  spent 
at  the  Priory  were  by  no  means  of  a  sort  to  leave 
upon  his  mind  an  impression  of  unmixed  innocence 
and  bliss. 

Was  Denver  one  of  the  guiding  spirits  of  a  con- 
spiracy, of  which  the  man  with  the  white  mustache 
was  a  member?  And  was  Denver  anxious  to  marry 
Rachel  in  order  to  make  stronger  the  bonds  in  which 
she  was  held? 

Against  this  notion  there  stood  out  the  remem- 
brance of  the  rest  of  the  Van  Santen  family ;  his 
knowledge  that  the  father  was  a  man  of  wealth  and 
good  repute ;  the  mother  a  good  creature  incapable 
of  guile;  the  daughters  charming  women,  of  whom 
it  was  difficult  to  suspect  anything  wrong;  the  two 
brothers  indeed  were  not  so  satisfactory,  but  there 
was  this  to  be  said  of  Denver,  that  he  boasted  openly 
of  his  skill  at  cards,  and  was  ready  to  challenge  all 
comers.  Of  the  plain-featured  Harry,  with  the  hard, 
sunless  smile,  Gerard  knew  nothing.  Whether  he 
won  or  lost  at  cards  he  did  not  talk  about  his  luck, 
and  his  manner  was  as  quiet  and  reticent  as  that  of 
his  brother  was  swaggering  and  loud. 


MISS  DAY  I  SON  229 

Somehow  Gerard  did  not  trust  him  the  more  on 
that  account. 

While  Gerard  was  still  smarting  from  the  blow 
of  Rachel's  letter,  he  was  much  surprised  on  reaching 
home  to  his  chambers  one  afternoon  at  about  five 
o'clock,  to  hear  that  a  lady  had  called  to  see  him,  and 
not  finding  him,  had  said  that  she  would  call  again 
between  five  and  six. 

While  he  was  still  asking  questions  about  this  mys- 
terious lady,  with  certain  absurd  but  undefined  hopes 
in  his  heart,  he  was  informed  that  she  had  come  back 
again,  and  there  was  ushered  into  his  presence,  to 
his  intense  astonishment,  the  homely  figure  of  Mrs. 
Van  Santen. 

He  was  so  much  surprised  that  for  the  moment  he 
could  scarcely  greet  her.  He  at  once  guessed  that 
she  had  something  to  tell  which  he  should  not  care 
to  hear. 

"  You  didn't  expect  to  see  me,  did  you,  Mr.  Buck- 
land?  I  guess  you  are  about  as  surprised  as  if  the 
Empress  of  Morocco  had  looked  in." 

"  I  didn't  expect  this  pleasure,  certainly.  It  is 
all  the  greater,"  stammered  Gerard,  as  he  offered  her 
a  chair,  and  ordered  some  tea. 

"  No,  don't  you  trouble  to  get  me  any  tea. 
I've  had  some,"  said  the  good  lady,  as  she  settled  her- 
self in  his  best  arm-chair,  and  looked  round  the  room. 
"  And  so  these  are  bachelor  chambers,  are  they  ?  And 
do  you  do  your  own  house-keeping,  Mr.  Buckland?  " 


230  THE  DAZZLING 

"  Some  of  it,"  said  Gerard,  smiling.  "  Not  al- 
ways very  successfully." 

"  I  wonder  you  don't  suit  yourself  with  a  wife,  Mr. 
Buckland?"  * 

"  I've  had  thoughts  of  it  sometimes.  But  on  the 
whole—" 

"  They  tell  me,"  and  she  suddenly  turned  upon  him 
a  pair  of  eyes  which  he  saw  to  be  full  of  unexpected 
shrewdness,  "  that  you  had  thoughts  of  Miss  Davi- 
son." 

He  grew  pale  at  the  remark. 

"  Unfortunately  she  had  no  thoughts  of  me,"  he 
said  Hurriedly. 

"  Ah ! "  Mrs.  Van  Santen  bent  forward,  and 
stared  intently  into  his  face.  "  There  was  something 
in  it  then?  You  know  her  well,  this  Miss  Davison, 
Mr.  Buckland?  " 

What  on  earth  was  she  going  to  ask  him?  Gerard, 
feeling  that  he  should  be  called  upon  to  go  through 
a  trying  ordeal,  braced  himself  up  to  the  occasion. 

"  I've  had  the  pleasure  of  meeting  her  at  the  house 
of  several  of  my  friends." 

"  You  know  her  people  too,  I  suppose  ?  " 

"  Yes,  I  know  her  mother,  her  sister,  and,  as  I've 
said,  a  good  many  friends  of  hers." 

"  Ah !  And  they're  good  sort  of  people,  satis- 
factory sort  of  people?  There,  there,  don't  get  so 
red.  I  don't  mean  to  put  you  through  a  long  cate- 
chism. But  the  fact  is,  one  of  my  sons  has  gone 


MISS  DAVISON  231 

and  fallen  in  love  with  the  girl,  and  I'm  not  quite  sure 
I  approve  of  it.  I'm  particular  about  ray  sons.  I 
want  them  to  marry  girls  who  will  have  a  good  influ- 
ence over  them,  and  I'm  not  quite  sure  about  this 
young  woman." 

Gerard  was  aghast.  He  could  see  that  the  mother's 
shrewdness  had  fathomed  the  fact  that  there  was  some 
mystery  about  Miss  Davison,  and,  with  the  daring  of 
an  American,  she  had  at  once  searched  in  the  ranks 
of  her  acquaintances  for  someone  who  would  be  likely 
to  tell  her  all  she  wanted  to  know  about  her  proposed 
daughter-in-law.  She  had  had  the  wit  to  guess  that 
Gerard,  who  was  evidently  in  love  with  the  girl  him- 
self, would  not  be  inclined  to  be  too  indulgent  to- 
wards her,  or  to  paint  her  family  or  herself  in  too 
rosy  colors  to  his  successful  rival's  family. 

Gerard  did  not  know  what  to  say.  He  felt  quite 
sure  that,  whatever  might  be  the  ugly  truth  about 
the  bondage  Rachel  was  in,  she  was  quite  good  enough 
for  a  man  like  Denver,  a  boastful,  swaggering  fellow, 
fond  of  cards  and  of  little  else,  and  as  obtrusive  and 
bold  in  his  love-making  as  if  he  had  been  twenty 
times  Rachel's  superior. 

On  the  other  hand,  he  shrank  from  telling  a  direct 
lie  to  this  simple  and  trusting  woman,  who  had  come 
to  him  in  her  doubts  and  fears  to  learn  the  truth  about 
her  son's  future  wife. 

"  Surely,"  he  said  rather  coldly,  "  your  son  is  old 
enough  and  clever  enough  to  hold  his  own,  and  to  be 


232  THE  DAZZLING 

ready  to  influence  his  wife  rather  than  to  be  influenced 
by  her." 

The  old  lady  shook  her  head  slowly. 

*'  One  might  say  so,  if  one  knew  the  world  less  well 
than  I  do,"  she  said  shortly.  "  But  a  handsome 
wife  can  do  a  lot  one  way  or  the  other  with  a  man." 

"  What  makes  you  think  Miss  Davison's  influence 
would  be  other  than  good  ?  "  asked  Gerard. 

The  old  lady  put  her  head  on  one  side  and  looked 
at  him  keenly. 

"  Perhaps  it's  a  kind  of  instinct,  as  one  may  say," 
said  she.  "  Or  perhaps  it's  something  I've  noticed 
and  wondered  at.  She's  by  way  of  being  a  bit  of  a 
flirt,  isn't  she  now,  Mr.  Buckland?  She's  been  nice 
to  you,  and  nice  to  Denver,  of  course.  And  it  seems 
to  me  she's  looked  at  that  young  man  Jones  in  a  way 
that  suggested  that  she'd  been  nice  to  him  too, 
though,  mind  you,  she  told  us  she'd  never  met  him 
before  he  came  to  our  house.  Now  do  you  happen  to 
know  whether  that  was  true  or  not  ?  " 

The  old  lady  had  been  sharp-eyed,  and  Gerard  felt 
uneasy  under  her  keen  glance. 

He  thought  evasion  of  the  point  his  best  course. 

"  Who  is  Jones  ?  "  he  asked  innocently.  "  Have 
I  met  him?  Do  I  know  him?  " 

"  He  was  at  the  Priory  that  day  you  came,"  said 
Mrs.  Van  Santen.  "  A  quiet-looking  young  man 
with  a  black  mustache." 

Now  Gerard  had  some  reason  for  believing  that 


MISS  D  AVI  SON  233 

the  young  Van  Santens  knew  Cecil  'Jones  as  well  as 
Rachel  did,  but  he  could  not  make  this  suggestion 
to  their  innocent  old  mother.  So  he  said  — 

"  I  remember ;  but  I  can  tell  you  nothing  about 
him,  as  it  was  the  first  time  I'd  met  him.  myself,  and 
I  haven't  seen  him  since." 

The  old  lady  was  watching  him  keenly.  Evi- 
dently she  was  conscious  that  something  was  not  quite 
above-board  in  her  surroundings ;  but  Gerard,  while 
sympathizing  with  her  strongly,  felt  that  he  could 
not  betray  his  own  fears,  lest  he  should  bring  suspi- 
cion upon  Miss.  Davison. 

He  thought  that  the  motherly  body  had  perhaps 
been  slowly  waking  to  the  knowledge  that  her  sons' 
card-playing  was  excessive,  and  that  she  might  also 
have  heard  nasty  things  said  about  Denver's  un- 
failing luck.  She  seemed  rather  disappointed  that 
she  could  not  learn  more  from  him. 

"  Now  as  to  this  Miss  Davison,"  she  went  on,  in  a 
grumbling  tone,  "  of  course  she's  very  good-looking 
and  all  that,  and  dresses  in  style,  and  carries  herself 
like  a  queen ;  but  I  should  like  to  meet  her  mother, 
and  the  girl  doesn't  seem  to  want  to  let  us  meet.  Do 
you  know  all  about  the  old  lady  ?  And  her  family  ?  " 

"  I  know  the  mother  is  the  widow  of  an  officer  who 
had  rather  a  distinguished  career,  and  that  the  family 
is  a  good  one,  several  members  of  it  holding  high 
posts  in  the  army  and  navy,  especially  the  army." 

The  old  lady  nodded  dubiously. 


THE  DAZZLING 

"  I  should  like  to  see  some  of  these  grand  rela- 
tions," she  said  at  last,  rather  sharply.  "  We're  good 
enough  for  ladies  with  titles  to  call  upon;  I  should 
have  thought  we  were  good  enough  for  these  Davi- 
sons ! " 

"  Oh,  there's  no  suspicion  of  that  sort  of  thing 
about  them,"  said  Gerard  hastily.  "  Mrs.  Davison 
is  the  mildest  and  gentlest  of  elderly  ladies,  and  she 
would  be  very  shy,  I  think,  if  she  were  to  find  herself 
in  such  a  merry  crowd  as  that  you  had  at  the  Priory 
the  Sunday  I  was  there." 

"Why  don't  she  live  with  her  daughter?"  asked 
Mrs.  Van  Santen  aggressively. 

"  Miss  Davison  has  to  live  in  London,  on  account 
of  her  work.  It  doesn't  agree  with  her  mother." 

"  H'm !  That  place  agrees  with  most  mothers  that 
agrees  with  their  young  daughters,"  said  she  dryly. 
"  And  as  for  Miss  Davison's  work,  she's  having  a 
good  long  holiday,  I  guess,  just  now !  " 

"  Doesn't  she  come  backwards  and  forwards  to 
town  from  the  Priory  ?  " 

"  Oh,  yes,  she  does,  now  and  then ;  but  she  must 
be  clever  if  she  can  do  much  work  during  the  short 
time  she's  away !  However,  I  won't  take  up  your 
time,  Mr.  Buckland,  if  you're  busy.  I'm  sorry  you 
can't  say  more  to  set  my  mind  at  rest  about  the  girl. 
But,  anyhow,  I  hope  you'll  come  down  and  see  us 
again.  We're  always  glad  to  see  our  friends,  you 


MISS  D  AVI  SON  235 

know,  and  there's  generally  a  good  many  of  them 
down  there,  and  we  give  them  a  good  time,  as  you 
know.  Good-bye." 

She  shook  hands  with  him  and  went  away,  refus- 
ing to  let  him  accompany  her  as  far  as  the  door, 
where  she  said  that  she  had  a  cab  waiting. 

Her  visit  made  Gerard  uneasy,  as  it  confirmed  some 
of  his  fears.  He  felt  little  doubt  that  the  mother  was 
anxious  about  her  sons'  gambling  propensities,  and 
that  her  sharp  eyes  had  discovered  that  there  was 
some  mystery  about  the  woman  whom  she,  at  least, 
looked  upon  as  her  younger  son's  fiancee. 

The  visit  of  the  old  lady  left  him  in  a  state  of 
great  confusion  of  mind.  He  did  not  know  quite 
how  things  stood  at  the  Priory,  whether  the  engage- 
ment was  definite,  in  spite  of  Rachel's  promise,  or 
whether  she  was  waiting,  as  she  had  said  she  would 
do,  for  Mr.  Van  Santen's  appearance. 

And  he  could  not  tell  how  much  Mrs.  Van  Santen 
really  knew  about  Miss  Davison,  and  whether  she  was 
concealing  the  full  extent  of  her  suspicions,  in  order 
to  learn  more  if  she  could. 

He  wished  that  he  could  get  another  opportunity 
of  conversing  with  Rachel  herself ;  and  he  resolved,  in 
spite  of  his  knowledge  that  he  would  find  the  experi- 
ence a  trying  one,  upon  going  down  to  the  Priory 
again,  as  Mrs.  Van  Santen  had  invited  him  to  do,  on 
the  very  next  Sunday. 


236  THE  DAZZLING 

The  weather  had  changed  since  his  last  visit;  the 
evenings  had  become  chilly ;  and  the  card-playing 
was  carried  on  with  more  zest  than  ever  in  conse- 
quence. 

Otherwise  the  essential  features  of  the  hospitality 
offered  were  the  same.  Cora  sang;  Delia  went  from 
group  to  group,  with  ready  tact  and  charm  smooth- 
ing over  gaps  in  the  conversation,  and  introduc- 
ing to  each  other  such  people  as  she  thought  would 
find  each  other's  conversation  congenial.  Mrs.  Van 
Santen  was  the  same  homely,  dear  old  soul  as  ever, 
pouring  out  tea  and  coffee  with  energy,  and  plain- 
tively telling  her  sons  she  wished  they  had  something 
better  to  do  than  play  cards  morning,  noon,  and 
night.  While  the  brothers  played  poker  and  bridge 
assiduously,  and  Rachel,  as  handsomely  dressed  as 
ever,  but  with  a  face  paler  than  before,  took  rather 
a  background  position,  and  seemed  listless  and  lan- 
guid, and  anxious  to  avoid  Gerard. 

Arthur  Aldington  was  there,  but  Cecil  Jones  was 
not.  And  the  time  passed  much  as  it  had  passed  on 
the  occasion  of  Gerard's  last  visit  until  quite  late  in 
the  evening,  when  suddenly,  while  Gerard  was  sitting 
in  the  music-room,  with  Arthur,  listening  to  Cora's 
exquisite  singing,  a  man's  voice  rang  out  through  the 
adjoining  room,  and  that  in  which  they  were,  from 
the  room  devoted  to  card-playing,  which  was  the 
furthest  away  of  all. 


MISS  D  AVI  SON  237 

"  I  say  that  you're  not  playing  fair !  I  say  that 
I've  been  cheated !  " 

It  was  the  voice  of  Sir  William  Gurdon,  and  upon 
the  last  word  they  all  heard  his  fist  come  down  with  a 
loud  crash  upon  the  table. 


CHAPTER  XIX 

UPON  Gerard  the  sounds  of  the  disturbance  came  with 
a  curious  sense  of  something  long  expected  having 
come  to  pass.  He  scarcely  felt  so  much  as  a  slight 
shock  of  surprise. 

Being,  therefore,  in  a  condition  to  notice  things, 
he  looked  round  him  at  the  various  faces  in  the  mu- 
sic-room, and  noted  the  effect  the  noise  had  upon  his 
companions. 

Cora,  who  was  singing  at  the  piano  to  her  own  ac- 
companiment, stopped  short  with  a  low  cry,  and  cov- 
ered her  face  with  her  hands. 

Arthur  who  was  standing  beside  her,  grew  red  and 
indignant,  and  called  Sir  William  by  several  uncom- 
plimentary names. 

Lady  Sylvia  and  Delia,  who  were  talking  on  a  sofa, 
looked  at  each  other  in  horror,  and  rose,  as  if  uncer- 
tain what  to  do. 

Two  men  whom  Gerard  had  previously  seen  at  the 
Priory,  and  who  were  staying  in  the  music-room  to 
listen  to  Cora's  singing  in  the  intervals  of  poker,  mut- 
tered something  to  each  other  in  an  undertone,  and 
promptly  went  to  the  scene  of  the  disturbance. 

238 


THE  DAZZLING  MISS  DAVISON  239 

Gerard,  having  noticed  these  things,  and  hearing 
that  the  disturbance  in  the  card-room  was  growing 
louder  instead  of  calming  down,  slipped  out  of  the 
room  and  across  the  next,  and  looked  in  at  the  third, 
where  the  unpleasant  scene  was  taking  place. 

As  he  passed  through  the  intermediate  room,  he 
noticed  that  Mrs.  Van  Santen,  with  her  poor  old  face 
blanched  with  horror,  was  sitting  alone  bolt  upright 
in  a  corner,  clasping  her  hands  and  apparently  too 
much  alarmed  to  speak  or  to  move. 

In  the  card-room  itself  all  was  confusion.  Sir 
William.  Gurdon,  flushed,  excited,  scarcely  intelligible 
was  glaring  across  the  card-table  at  Denver  Van  San- 
ten,  who  had  risen,  like  all  the  rest  of  the  players,  and 
who  was  standing  with  his  arms  folded  and  with  a 
proud  look  of  indignation  on  his  handsome  face,  sur- 
rounded by  men  who  were  all  speaking  at  once,  some 
addressing  one  of  the  disputants,  and  some  the  other, 
and  all  failing  in  making  themselves  distinctly  heard. 

Harry  Van  Santen,  who  was  the  coolest  man  in  the 
room,  was  the  first  person  to  make  himself  clearly 
heard.  Standing  on  the  outskirts  of  the  crowd,  he 
cried,  in  a  thin,  sharp,  penetrating  voice  — 

"  Give  him  a  chance.  Make  yourself  understood, 
Sir  William,  if  you're  sober  enough." 

At  these  words,  which  raised  a  fresh  issue,  and  were 
met  with  a  torrent  of  incoherent  words  from  the 
young  baronet,  and  with  murmurs  from  the  rest  of 
the  men,  the  ladies  in  the  room,  who  had  most  of  them 


240  THE  DAZZLING 

drawn  away  from  the  crowd  of  angry  melt,  and 
gathered  in  a  knot  in  a  corner,  whispered  to  each 
other  and  made  towards  the  door. 

Harry  Van  Santen,  who  perceived  this  movement, 
hastened  to  open  the  door,  saying  in  a  low  voice  to  the 
most  important  lady  of  the  group  — 

"  Yes,  that's  right.  This  is  no  scene  for  you 
ladies.  The  fellow's  drunk." 

He  shut  the  door  when  they  had  all  gone  out,  and 
returned  to  the  card-table,  where  three  or  four  of  the 
men  were  now  with  difficulty  holding  Sir  William 
back  from  a  personal  assault  upon  Denver  whose 
calmly  contemptuous  attitude  and  tone  were  irritating 
him  to  madness. 

The  uproar  continued,  and  indeed  grew  worse,  as 
excited  partisans  on  either  side  tried  to  outshout  the 
rest. 

In  the  midst  of  the  noise  and  the  turbulent  move- 
ments of  the  crowd  of  men  a  figure  flitted  lightly  past 
Gerard,  followed  immediately  by  another;  and  Delia 
and  Miss.  Davison,  the  former  leading,  the  other  fol- 
lowing close  behind,  made  their  way  into  the  group 
with  the  authority  born  of  combined  intelligence  and 
experience,  and  at  once  found  a  hearing. 

"  Gentlemen,"  said  Delia,  "  this  scene  is  very  dis- 
tressing, and  not  one  of  you  can  make  himself  heard 
or  understood  if  you  all  speak  at  once.  Will  you 
separate  for  a  time,  and  all  think  calmly  over  what 
has  happened  —  or  has  not  happened  —  and  then 


MISS  D  AVI  SON  241 

come  together  to  discuss  the  matter  like  reasonable 
persons?  If  not  for  your  own  sakes,  I  think  you  will 
do  so  for  my  mother's  and  for  ours,  will  you  not?  " 

Manner,  voice,  tone,  all  were  perfect,  and  one  after 
another  the  men  fell  back,  acknowledging  the  justice 
of  her  speech,  and  willing  to  obey  her  suggestion. 

Sir  William  alone  of  the  visitors  was  obdurate. 
While  Denver  merely  retreated  a  few  steps,  and  then 
threw  himself  with  an  air  of  insolent  defiance  on  a 
sofa,  the  baronet  maintained  his  position  in  the  mid- 
dle of  the  room,  and  poured  forth  his  woes  as  inco- 
herently and  volubly  as  ever. 

He  paid  no  heed  to  Delia,  who  looked  at  Miss  Davi- 
son  with  a  little  gesture  of  despair. 

Then  Rachel  came  up  to  Sir  William,  and  laying 
her  hand  on  his  sleeve,  said  gently  - 

"  Don't  you  think,  Sir  William,  you  had  better  talk 
this  over  quietly  with  someone  —  with  me,  if  you  like? 
And  I  will  listen  to  all  you  have  to  say,  and  will  do 
anything  I  can  to  put  the  matter  right." 

"  You  can't  put  it  right.  I  beg  your  pardon,  Miss 
Davison,  but  really  this  isn't  a  thing  I  can  discuss 
with  a  lady.  I've  been  che — " 

"  Oh,  hush,  hush !     Think  what  you're  saying." 

"  I've  been  cheated,  I  say.  I'm  sorry  to  have  had 
to  make  a  disturbance,  but  it  doesn't  alter  the  fact 
that—" 

"  For  the  sake  of  the  ladies  of  the  family,  won't 
you  be  reasonable?  Wait  a  little;  calm  down  a  little, 


242  THE  DAZZLING 

and  then  hear  what  there  is  to  be  said  on  the  other 
side." 

"  There's  nothing  to  be  said,  Miss  Davison,  noth- 
ing, that  is  to  say,  that  I  could  listen  to  or  believe. 
You  must  really  excuse  me.  It's  with  the  men  of  the 
family  that  I  have  to  deal.  Or  at  least  with  the  fel- 
low Denver.  But  I  suppose  it's  six  of  one  and  half 
a  dozen  of  the  other,  and  that  while  one  cheats  at 
poker,  the  other  does  at  bridge ! " 

Under  the  influence  of  the  lady's  gentle  talk,  Sir 
William  had  grown,  not  only  too  coherent,  but  so 
definite  and  precise  in  his  accusations,  so  sweeping  in 
his  charges,  that  every  ear  was  strained  to  catch  what 
he  said,  and  Denver,  lounging  on  the  sofa,  grew  per- 
ceptibly redder  as  he  was  forced  to  listen  too. 

But  Miss  Davison,  determined  to  end  this  painful 
scene  in  her  own  way,  took  the  young  baronet's  arm, 
almost  as  if  she  had  been  taking  him  into  custody, 
and  insisted  on  his  leading  her  —  or  more  properly 
being  led  by  her — into  the  adjoining  room,  where 
Mrs.  Van  Santen,  still  the  picture  of  woe,  was  sitting 
in  her  high-backed  chair,  and  receiving  the  con- 
dolences of  one  or  two  of  the  ladies,  while  the  others 
went  into  the  music-room,  with  the  exception  of  Lady 
Sylvia,  who,  much  disgusted  at  the  scene  she  had  been 
forced  to  witness,  had  ordered  her  car  round  and 
taken  her  departure. 

"  Say  something  nice  to  the  old  lady,  do,  Sir  Wil- 
liam," pleaded  Rachel  coaxingly  in  his  ear. 


MISS  D  AVI  SON  243 

"  How  can  I  say  anything  nice  to  her,  when  I  know 
her  son  is  a  card  — 

Miss  Davison  would  not  let  him  finish. 

"  You  know  nothing  certainly,"  she  broke  in 
quickly.  "  You  suspect,  but  that's  not  enough.  Do 
pray  remember  what  you  owe  to  all  of  us,  and  what- 
ever you  may  think  or  fancy,  keep  your  suspicions 
to  yourself  until  you  can  talk  things  over  quietly 
with  another  man." 

"  But  I'm  certain  — "  began  he  again. 

"  Well,  tell  what  you  think  to  —  to  —  let  me 
see  —  Mr.  Buckland  and  Mr.  Aldington.  They  saw 
everything.  Let  them  judge." 

"  Excuse  me,  they  saw  nothing,"  persisted  Sir  Wil- 
liam, who  was  now  speaking  more  quietly,  but  who 
was  not  in  the  least  disposed  to  waver  in  his  statement 
as  to  what  he  had  seen.  "  I  don't  think  they  were 
even  in  the  room  till  the  row  had  begun." 

She  was  leading  him  gently  across  the  middle  room, 
deeming  it  more  prudent  not  to  let  him  speak  to  Mrs. 
Van  Santen  in  his  obvious  state  of  irritation.  She 
made  him  take  her,  therefore,  into  the  music-room, 
where  Cora  and  Arthur  were  conversing  near  the 
piano,  and  where  two  or  three  other  small  knots  of 
people  were  discussing  the  distressing  affair  in  low 
voices. 

Gerard  was  sitting  by  himself  not  far  from  the 
piano,  and  Delia  had  come  in  to  do  her  usual  work 
of  smoothing  things  over  in  any  direction  where  she 


244  THE  DAZZLING 

saw  that  her  services  would  be  useful.  Miss  Davison 
made  straight  for  Gerard. 

"  Do,  Mr.  Buckland,"  said  she,  bending  down  to 
speak  pleadingly,  and  meanwhile  looking  at  him  with 
steady  eyes  eloquent  of  her  anxiety,  "  speak  to  Sir 
William,  and  try  to  persuade  him  to  make  some  sort 
of  apology,  to  believe  that  he  has  made  a  mistake,  a 
great  and  dreadful  mistake.  I  don't  want  him  to 
leave  the  house  until  he's  been  brought  to  listen  to 
reason,"  she  added  earnestly,  speaking  quickly,  and 
in  such  a  low  voice  that  only  Gerard  heard  her. 

For  he  had  started  to  his  feet  at  her  first  words, 
and  was  standing  on  one  side  of  her,  while  Sir  Wil- 
liam, still  angry  and  stiff,  was  on  the  other. 

Gerard  felt  himself  to  be  in  a  very  difficult  posi- 
tion. Of  course  he  believed  implicitly  that  the  bar- 
onet was  right,  that  he  had  suddenly  found  out  the 
meaning  of  the  constant  and  heavy  losses  at  cards 
which  he  had  sustained  when  playing  with  the  young 
Yan  Santens.  It  was  horrible  to  find  Rachel  taking 
the  part  of  these  men,  whom  he  now  looked  upon  as 
little  better  than  swindlers,  knowing,  as  he  did,  that 
she  must  be  perfectly  well  aware  of  what  had  been  go- 
ing on. 

And  yet  he  did  not  like  to  refuse  her  request,  es- 
pecially as,  even  if  his  suspicions  and  those  of  Sir  Wil- 
liam were  correct,  the  baronet  had  now  had  his  lesson, 
and  it  was  most  desirable  on  all  accounts  to  avoid  a 
scandal. 


MISS  D  AVI  SON  245 

So,  after  a  moment's  hesitation,  he  said,  "  All  right. 
I'll  do  what  I  can,"  and  thrusting  his  hand  through 
the  young  baronet's  arm,  he  led  him  into  the  con- 
servatory which  opened  from  this  room,  and  asked 
him  to  tell  him  all  about  it. 

Briefly  and  clearly  —  for  he  had  now  had  time  to 
collect  his  thoughts  —  Sir  William  explained  exactly 
what  he  had  seen,  and  his  reasons  for  believing  that 
he  had  been  robbed. 

Gerard  listened  attentively  and  without  interrup- 
tion, and  was  quite  sure  that  the  young  baronet  was 
correct  in  his  surmise,  and  that  Denver,  having 
robbed  him  persistently  and  with  ease,  had  at  last 
grown  careless,  and  manipulating  the  cards  without 
so  much  skill  as  usual,  had  been  found  out. 

"  There,"  said  Sir  William,  when  he  had  finished 
his  recital,  "  that's  what  I  saw ;  and  whatever  you 
tell  me,  I  shall  think  the  same,  that  I've  been  cheated, 
and  that  to-night  is  probably  not  the  first  time." 

Gerard  did  not  at  once  reply.  Cora  and  Arthur 
Aldington  were  observing  them,  and  he  saw  the  girl 
whisper  something  to  Arthur,  in  response  to  which  he 
nodded,  and  leaving  her,  strolled  over  to  join  the  two 
young  men. 

"  I  hope  you've  changed  your  mind  about  what 
you  fancied  you  saw,"  said  he  to  Sir  William,  who 
laughed  dryly  and  shook  his  head. 

"Oh,  no,  I  haven't,"  he  said.  "These  Yankees 
have  had  me  for  a  mug;  and  I've  no  doubt,  as  I've 


246  THE  DAZZLING 

just  been  saying  to  Buckland,  that  what  I  found 
out  to-night  was  really  only  the  end  of  what  had 
been  going  on  for  some  time,  in  fact  ever  since  I  was 
fool  enough  to  come  here  first." 

Arthur  looked  angry. 

"  Really,  Gurdon,  I  think  you  ought  to  measure 
your  words  a  little  more  carefully,"  he  said  stiffly. 
"  We  are  friends  of  these  people,  Buckland  and  I, 
and  we  can't  allow  such  things  to  be  said  uncontra- 
dicted,  can  we?  " 

Gerard  shook  his  head. 

"  You  see,  Sir  William,  it's  impossible  for  you  to 
be  quite  sure  on  such  a  point.  It  would  need  some 
confirmation  — " 

"  Confirmation !     Do  you  doubt  my  word  ?  " 

"  Of  course  not.  What  I  do  doubt  is  whether  we 
ought  to  be  sure  without  proof  stronger  than  the  eyes 
of  one  person.  No,  no,  don't  get  angry  again.  I 
mean  that,  supposing  I  had  seen  what  you  saw,  and 
believed  what  you  believed,  I  should  have  thought 
twice  about  bringing  such  a  grave  —  such  an  awful 
accusation  —  in  a  room  full  of  ladies  —  and  should 
have  waited  to  discuss  quietly  with  some  other  fellows 
what  was  the  best  thing  to  be  done." 

Sir  William  reddened.  He  himself  had  by  this 
time  begun  to  feel  considerable  regret  that  he  had 
been  so  rashly  outspoken. 

"  It's  all  very  well,"  he  grumbled,  "  to  give  advice 
like  that;  but  I  tell  you,  when  you  suddenly  make  a 


MISS  DAVISON  247 

discovery  like  that  —  when  you're  absolutely  sure, 
mind  you,  as  I  was  and  am  —  you  forget  all  rules  of 
prudence,  even  perhaps  of  propriety,  and  you  go  for 
the  swindler  there  and  then." 

"  Sh  —  sh,"  said  Gerard. 

Arthur  reddened. 

"  Come,  I  say,  Gurdon,  you  shouldn't  say  things 
like  that  without  a  lot  more  proof  than  you've  got, 
that  things  are  not  on  the  square,"  said  he,  with  ex- 
citement. 

"  By  Jove !  What  better  proof  can  a  man  have 
than  the  evidence  of  his  own  eyes  ?  "  asked  Sir  Wil- 
liam. "  I'm  convinced,  as  I  tell  you,  that  I've  been 
deliberately  robbed.  And  the  only  reason  why  I'm 
allowing  myself  to  be  persuaded  to  sit  here  quietly 
and  to  let  things  simmer  down,  instead  of  leaving  the 
house  at  once,  is  that  the  thing  is  too  flagrant  to  be 
passed  over,  and  that  I  intend  to  give  information 
about  it  to  the  police." 

Both  his  hearers  protested  at  once,  incoherently,  in 
a  low  voice. 

"  Nonsense,"  said  Arthur.  "  How  on  earth  can 
you  bring  disgrace  upon  the  ladies  by  doing  such  a 
thing  as  that?  How  can  you,  after  being  hospitably 
received  by  Mrs.  Van  Santen,  give  information 
against  one  of  her  sons?  It's  impossible." 

"  I'm  going  to  do  it,  though,"  said  Sir  William, 
with  ominous  tranquillity.  "  If  I  were  not  absolutely 
certain  of  what  I  saw,  I  need  not  tell  you  I  would 


248  THE  DAZZLING 

never  do  such  a  thing.  As  it  is,  I'm  convinced  I 
was  only  what  you  call  hospitably  received  for  the 
purpose  of  being  plundered;  and,  as  I  say,  I'm  not 
going  to  put  up  with  it  quietly.  I'm  going  to 
give  information  to  the  police.  If  there's  noth- 
ing in  my  charge,  it  will  be  all  right,  of  course. 
They  will  listen  to  me  quietly,  and  no  more  will  be 
heard  of  it.  But  if,  on  the  other  hand,  the  informa- 
tion I  give  chimes  in  with  anything  they  know,  or 
may  know  in  the  future,  about  these  people,  then  my 
evidence  may  prove  useful,  and  I  shouldn't  hesitate 
to  give  it." 

He  was  so  quietly  determined  that  Gerard  looked 
upon  it  as  a  hopeless  task  to  try  to  dissuade  him 
from  his  purpose.  Indeed,  he  was  not  sorry  to  hear 
his  intention.  If  the  Van  Santens  were  swindlers,  it 
was  time  they  were  brought  to  justice.  And  if,  un- 
happily, Miss  Davison  were  mixed  up  with  them, 
there  was  ample  time  to  warn  her  of  what  was  in  store 
for  the  family. 

Arthur,  however,  could  not  take  it  so  quietly.  He 
was  indignant  at  the  aspersions  cast  upon  the  Ameri- 
cans, and  poured  forth  an  eloquent  tribute  to  their 
charms,  pointing  out  that  he  too  had  lost  money 
at  cards  there,  but  that  he  did  not  shriek  out  that  he 
had  been  robbed,  but  ascribed  his  losses  to  his  own 
chuckleheadedness  in  playing  with  people  who  openly 
said  that  they  played  a  better  game  than  he  did. 

All  such  sneers  as  these,  however,  were  lost  upon  Sir 


MISS  D  AVI  SON  249 

William.  And  to  Arthur's  reminder  that  he  would 
be  making  things  very  unpleasant  for  the  ladies  who 
were  among  the  visitors  at  the  Priory,  the  baronet 
was  equally  deaf.  Indeed,  he  took  this  suggestion 
as  the  text  for  another  sermon. 

"  By  the  by,"  he  said  to  Gerard,  "  have  you  ever 
noticed  that,  although  the  Van  Santens  get  plenty  of 
visitors,  you  never  meet  any  of  their  own  country- 
men here  ?  " 

Gerard  himself  had  noticed  the  fact,  and  said  so, 
adding,  however,  that  he  believed  it  was  usual  with 
Americans  to  invite  English  people  of  rank,  whenever 
they  could  get  them,  in  preference  to  their  own  peo- 
ple. 

Sir  William,  however,  persisted  in  seeing  a  sinister 
significance  in  everything  that  concerned  the  Van 
Santens,  and  he  turned  to  communicate  his  doubts 
to  another  man,  while  Arthur,  full  of  indignation, 
went  back  to  Cora,  and  bursting  with  anger,  most 
indiscreetly  let  out  the  fact  that  Sir  William  was 
going  to  complain  about  his  supposed  grievance  to 
the  police. 

Cora  turned  very  pale,  and  uttered  a  little  scream 
of  horror. 

"  Then  you  may  tell  Sir  William  from  me  that  he's 
not  a  gentleman,"  she  said,  with  flashing  eyes. 
"  Whatever  he  may  think  of  himself  and  his  title,  he's 
just  the  meanest  thing  that  breathes !  When  he's 
been  received  here  so  well,  and  has  had  such  a  good 


250  THE  DAZZLING 

time !  Oh,  what  will  my  mother  say  ?  I  must  go  and 
tell  her ! " 

"  I  shouldn't,  if  I  were  you,  at  least  till  the  people 
are  gone,"  said  Arthur  persuasively.  "  Remember, 
he  can't  do  you  any  harm.  He  can  give  as  much  in- 
formation as  he  likes ;  no  notice  will  be  taken  of  it, 
and  he  will  merely  be  informed  that  observation  shall 
be  kept  upon  the  house." 

But  the  words  inflamed  Cora's  wrath  still  more. 

"  Observation  kept  upon  our  house ! "  she  said  in- 
dignantly. "  Where  people  of  rank  come  every  day  ! 
No,  indeed,  the  police  shall  do  nothing  of  the  sort. 
Let  the  fellow  dare  to  bring  an  honest,  open  charge 
against  my  brothers,  and  then  see  what  evidence  we 
shall  bring  on  our  side !  Observation  indeed !  " 

And  she  left  him,  and  ran,  shaking  with  indigna- 
tion, into  the  next  room,  where  she  took  Mrs.  Van 
Santen  aside,  and  poured  into  her  ears  the  story  of 
Sir  William's  cowardly  attacks  and  threats. 

The  old  lady,  in  great  alarm,  called  for  Delia  and 
Miss  Davison,  and  hurriedly  consulted  them  as  to 
what  was  to  be  done.  She  was  in  a  state  of  the  great- 
est anxiety,  but  showed  more  quiet  good  sense  than 
might  have  been  expected  from  one  so  simple  in  the 
world's  ways. 

"  Isn't  one  of  you  two  girls  clever  enough,"  she 
said,  "  to  talk  to  this  young  man  and  show  him  that 
he's  behaving  as  badly  as  a  man  can?  What  have 
we  done  that  he  should  insult  us  like  this?  Even  if 


MISS  DAVISON  251 

Denver  had  not  played  fair  —  which  we  all  know  is 
ridiculous  —  it  would  be  worse  behavior  in  this  young 
man  to  insult  us  all  as  he  wants  to  do,  than  it 
would  have  been  of  Denver  to  do  what  he  says  he  be- 
lieved he  saw  him  do." 

"  He  must  be  stopped,"  said  Delia  firmly.  "  He 
must  be  made  to  see  he's  making  an  ass  of  himself. 
We  can't  have  a  scandal  made  about  us,  and  all  our 
English  friends  offended  and  made  to  stay  away." 

She  was  addressing  Rachel,  whose  face  was  very 
grave. 

"  Of  course,"  said  Miss  Davison,  "  it  doesn't  much 
matter  if  he  does  behave  as  he  suggests.  Everybody 
knows  you  and  knows  the  sort  of  society  you  receive." 

"  And  that  you,  who  have  lots  of  friends  in  the  best 
society,  actually  stay  with  us,"  added  Delia. 

Miss  Davison  assented. 

"  I  really  don't  think  you  need  distress  yourself 
about  this  silly  lad,"  she  said.  "  He  would  harm  no 
one  but  himself  if  he  were  to  go  to  a  police-station 
and  tell  his  absurd  tale.  He  has  already  made  half 
the  people  here  think  him  mad,  and  I'm  going  to  tell 
him  so." 

She  swept  across  the  floor  and  entered  the  music- 
room,  where  the  baronet  was  talking  in  a  low  voice, 
but  with  great  excitement,  to  two  or  three  other 
men  who  had  been  witnesses  of  the  scene  at  the  card- 
table. 

She  broke  into  the  group  and  called  him  aside,  and, 


252  THE  DAZZLING 

in  a  voice  which  was  audible  all  over  the  room,  pro- 
tested strongly  and  energetically  against  his  behav- 
ior. 

"  I  should  have  thought,"  she  said,  with  a  haughty 
movement  of  her  handsome  head,  "  that,  if  you  had 
been  undeterred  by  any  other  consideration,  the 
knowledge  that  I,  a  friend  of  so  many  of  your  own 
friends,  have  been  staying  with  the  Van  Santens, 
would  have  been  enough  to  convince  you  that  such 
a  thing  as  you  imagine  could  not  occur  here." 

But  the  young  man,  who  had  appeared  so  good- 
humored  and  so  easy  to  manage  on  previous  occasions, 
was  now  as  firm  and  as  stubborn  as  he  had  before 
been  gentle. 

"  It  is  because  you,  a  young  lady  of  known  posi- 
tion and  a  friend  of  so  many  others  of  position,  have 
stayed  with  these  people  and  made  a  friend  of  them, 
that  I  and  my  friends  have  taken  them  up,"  he  re- 
torted shortly.  "  It  makes  them  all  the  more  danger- 
ous that  they've  succeeded  in  hoodwinking  a  lady 
as  clever  as  you  are." 

The  word  caused  a  movement  of  astonishment  at 
his  tenacity,  in  the  group  of  men  who  were  within 
hearing. 

"  Really,  Sir  William,  you  talk  as  if  you  were  in  a 
den  of  thieves ! "  said  Miss  Davison  haughtily. 

"  Really,  Miss  Davison,  I  am  inclined  to  think  that 
I  am,"  retorted  the  baronet,  as  he  bowed  and  with- 
drew into  the  next  room. 


MISS  DAVISON  253 

Rachel  was  left  standing,  pale,  indignant,  fright- 
ened, in  the  middle  of  the  music-room.  The  other 
men  who  had  heard  something  of  this  short  passage 
of  arms,  came  round  her,  apologizing  for  Sir  Wil- 
liam, expressing  the  opinion  that  he  had  had  too  much 
champagne,  and  that  there  was  no  other  explanation 
of  his  conduct  than  that,  or  a  sudden  attack  of  in- 
sanity. 

Miss  Davison  received  these  remarks  graciously, 
again  expressing  her  astonishment  that  Sir  William 
could  make  himself  so  ridiculous. 

Before  she  had  finished  speaking,  the  group  was 
added  to  by  two  or  three  more  persons,  one  of  whom 
was  Gerard  Buckland.  With  him  she  presently 
walked  away  towards  the  conservatory,  and  when  they 
were  out  of  hearing  of  the  rest,  she  said  in  a  low 
voice  — 

"  If  you  can't  succeed  in  persuading  Sir  William 
not  to  carry  out  his  absurd  intention,  but  to  declare 
—  before  he  leaves  the  house  that  he  has  given  it  up, 
I  advise  you  to  look  after  him,  Mr.  Buckland." 

"  To  look  after  him !     What  do  you  mean  ?  " 

She  raised  her  eyelids  slowly,  and  looked  at  him 
with  a  strange,  arresting  steadiness. 

"  Oh,  I  only  mean,  of  course,  that  since  it's  plain 
that  he  is  scarcely  in  his  right  senses,  he  ought  to 
be  —  closely  watched." 


CHAPTER  XX 

GERARD  stood  still  in  a  state  approaching  stupefac- 
tion as  Miss  Davison,  having  given  him  this  extra- 
ordinary warning,  turned  quickly  away. 

He  did  not  know  whether  she  was  speaking  in  the 
interest  of  Sir  William  Gurdon  or  in  that  of  the  Van 
Santens,  but  after  a  little  reflection  he  decided  that 
he  had  better  profit  by  her  words,  at  least  to  the  ex- 
tent of  ascertaining  exactly  what  the  young  baronet 
was  going  to  do,  and  how  he  fared  in  doing  it. 

Gerard  had,  on  this  occasion,  come  down  by  train 
by  himself,  instead  of  in  Arthur  Aldington's  car. 
Full  of  his  resolution,  and  confirmed  in  it  by  Miss 
Davison's  manner  when  he  said  good-bye,  he  went 
down  the  drive  by  himself,  and  then  waited  outside  the 
gates  for  the  coming  of  Sir  William's  motor-car. 

Sir  William  came  out  a  few  minutes  later,  driving 
his  car  himself,  as  usual.  Perceiving  Gerard,  he 
stopped,  and  apparently  anxious  to  have  someone  to 
confide  his  grievances  to  once  more,  he  asked  him,  as 
Gerard  had  expected  and  hoped,  whether  he  should 
give  him  a  lift  back  to  town. 

Gerard  thanked  him  and  took  the  seat  beside  Sir 
254. 


THE  DAZZLING  MISS  DAVISON  255 

William,  while  the  chauffeur  got  inside  the  car.  As 
Gerard  expected,  the  baronet  broke  out  into  fresh 
denunciation  of  the  Van  Santens  without  delay. 

"  I  don't  believe  the  one  of  them  is  any  better  than 
the  other,  and  I  shouldn't  be  surprised  to  hear  that 
they've  been  warned  out  of  New  York.  I'm  going  to 
make  some  inquiries  about  them,"  he  said. 

"  Do  they  know  that  ?  "  asked  Gerard. 

"  I  daresay  they  do  by  this  time.  I've  made  no 
secret  of  it  since  I  found  out  I'd  been  cheated,"  said 
the  baronet  angrily. 

"  Why  didn't  you  keep  your  plans  to  yourself? 
If  you're  wrong,  it's  rough  upon  them,  but  es- 
pecially upon  the  ladies  of  the  family,  whom  you 
surely  don't  implicate  in  their  brothers'  malpractices 
—  if  they  are  malpractices." 

"  I'm  not  wrong,  I  can't  be  wrong.  And  as  for 
the  ladies,  I  don't  accuse  them  of  having  anything 
to  do  with  their  brothers'  tricks,  of  course,  but  one 
can't  consider  those  points  when  one  is  dealing  with 
rogues.  And  if  you  mean  Miss  Davison,  I  can  only 
say  I'm  surprised  to  find  her  in  such  dubious  com- 
pany." 

Now  Gerard,  unfortunately,  had  been  too  much 
used  to  seeing  Rachel  in  similar  circumstances  to  be 
deeply  offended  by  the  suggestion.  But,  doubtful 
as  he  felt  concerning  the  circumstances  which  had 
made  her  such  an  intimate  friend  of  the  Americans, 
he  was  bent  on  saving  her  from  the  punishment 


256  THE  DAZZLING 

which  he  knew  that  they  deserved,  and  which  he  hoped 
that  she  would  contrive  to  escape. 

"  Well,  if  you're  right,  you  can't  be  too  cautious 
in  the  way  you  go  to  work  to  bring  them  to  book. 
You  had  far  better  make  inquiries  yourself  than  at 
once  put  the  matter  into  other  hands,"  he  suggested. 

The  baronet  shrugged  his  shoulders.  Although 
he  passed  for  "  a  bit  of  a  fool,"  he  was  very  tenacious 
of  his  purpose  when  once  he  had  made  up  his  mind 
upon  any  point,  and  he  had  thoroughly  resolved  upon 
the  course  he  meant  to  adopt  now.  So  he  said  noth- 
ing in  answer  to  this,  and  before  Gerard  had  decided 
what  to  say  next,  they  were  both  startled  by  an  ex- 
plosion, followed  by  another,  and  the  next  moment 
the  tire  of  one  of  the  back  wheels  of  the  motor-car 
had  burst,  and  the  car  itself  was  on  its  side  in  the 
ditch  by  the  side  of  the  road. 

Sir  William  was  shot  right  over  the  wheel  and  into 
the  hedge  on  the  other  side  of  the  ditch,  while  Gerard 
was  flung  over  the  wind  screen  into  the  ditch  itself. 

A  minute  later  he  had  scrambled  out,  unhurt  but 
plastered  with  mud,  and  was  standing,  with  the 
chauffeur  by  his  side,  looking  at  the  wrecked  car, 
while  Sir  William,  who  had  regained  his  feet  and  was 
on  the  other  side  of  the  hedge  in  a  stubble-field,  was 
expressing  his  indignation  and  annoyance,  and,  as 
might  have  been  expected,  ascribing  the  accident  to 
the  agency  of  the  Van  Santens. 

"  This  is  no  accident,"  he  said,  as  he  stood,  livid 


MISS  D  AVI  SON  257 

with  rage,  on  the  bank,  when  he  had  scrambled 
through  the  hedge  and  had  joined  the  other  two. 
"  The  back  tires  were  perfectly  sound  when  I  left 
town  this  afternoon.  They've  been  tampered  with 
by  those  fellows  at  the  Priory." 

To  Gerard  this  fresh  accusation  seemed  far-fetched 
and  absurd  for  the  first  moment;  but  when  the 
chauffeur  joined  his  assurances  to  those  of  his  master, 
that  the  tires  had  been  in  perfect  order,  and  moreover 
that  he  had  seen  one  of  the  gentlemen  examining  the 
car,  and  when,  upon  inquiry,  it  turned  out  that  the 
gentleman  in  question  was  Denver  Van  Santen,  even 
Gerard  began  to  think  there  might  have  been  some 
foul  play. 

After  a  short  discussion  it  was  decided  that  the 
chauffeur  should  remain  with  the  car,  and  that  the 
two  gentlemen  should  walk  on  to  the  nearest  town, 
which  was  some  two  miles  away,  and  make  arrange- 
ments both  for  the  digging  out  of  the  car  and  for 
continuing  their  journey  by  rail. 

As  they  walked  along,  for  the  most  part  in  silence, 
along  the  road,  which  was  shaded  by  a  row  of  trees 
on  one  side,  Gerard  fancied  he  heard  footsteps  on  the 
other  side  of  the  hedge.  In  the  state  of  nervous  ex- 
citement and  suspicion  into  which  he  and  his  com- 
panion had  both  been  thrown  by  the  occurrences  of 
the  evening,  this  incident  seemed  strange  to  Gerard, 
who  imparted  his  belief  that  they  were  being 
shadowed  to  Sir  William.  Keeping  his  voice  low  he 


258  THE  DAZZLING 

suggested  that  they  should  make  a  dash  for  the  hedge 
together  at  the  point  where  he  thought  he  had  heard 
the  footsteps  last. 

The  other  agreeing,  the  two  young  men  made  a 
rush  for  the  hedge,  climbed  up  the  bank  with  rapid 
steps,  and  scrambled  through  the  briars  just  in  time 
to  see  a  figure  disappearing  into  a  plantation  near  at 
hand.  At  the  suggestion  of  the  baronet,  they  went 
in  pursuit,  and  got  so  close  to  the  quarry  that  a  few 
more  strides  would  have  brought  them  up  to  him,  when 
suddenly  he  made  a  plunge  forward,  and  disappeared 
from  their  sight  among  the  trees  of  the  little  wood. 

Sir  William  would  have  made  another  dash  to  se- 
cure him,  but  Gerard  held  him  back. 

"  Take  care !  "  he  whispered.  "  Did  you  see  what 
he  had  in  his  hand?  " 

Sir  William  drew  back  with  a  low  cry. 

"  No,"  he  whispered  back,  "  but  I  saw  who  he 
was ! " 

The  two  men  exchanged  looks,  and  then,  with  one 
accord,  they  dropped  the  pursuit  and  regained  the 
road  as  quickly  as  possible. 

Not  until  they  were  a  long  way  from  the  planta- 
tion did  they  stop  and  exchange  their  thoughts. 

"  He  carried  a  revolver,"  whispered  Gerard. 

"  It  was  Harry  Van  Santen,"  said  Sir  William. 

After  that,  both  men  walked  on  faster,  and  said  lit- 
tle, until  they  had  reached  a  part  of  the  road  so  open 
that  there  was  no  further  need  of  caution. 


MISS  DAVISON  259 

Gerard  by  this  time  fully  appreciated  the  value  of 
Miss  Davison's  warning.  She  had  guessed  that  some 
attempt  would  be  made  upon  the  revengeful  baronet, 
and  had  done  her  best  for  him  by  her  quietly  dropped 
word. 

"  Now,"  said  Gerard,  when  they  could  talk  more 
freely,  "  you  will  understand  the  need  of  caution  in 
dealing  with  these  people.  If  you  had  been  alone  — " 

Sir  William  nodded. 

"  It  would  have  been  all  up  with  me  by  this  time," 
he  added  grimly.  "  Well,  you  were  right,  Buckland, 
one  can't  be  too  careful  in  dealing  with  these  peo- 
ple." 

"  Will  you  take  my  advice  now"  said  Gerard 
earnestly,  "  and  give  up  all  idea  of  going  to  the  po- 
lice openly?  Write  to  the  Van  Santens,  say  you've 
had  a  talk  with  me,  and  that  you  are  convinced  you 
made  a  mistake,  and  that  you  are  ready  to  apologize ! 
Tell  them  that  we  had  an  adventure  to-night,  that  we 
came  across  a  poacher,  and  nearly  got  up  with  him, 
that  he  took  us  for  keepers  and  ran  with  all  his 
might." 

The  baronet  looked  at  him  quickly. 

"  Will  they  believe  that?  "  he  asked. 

"  It  doesn't  matter  if  they  don't,"  said  Gerard.  "  I 
want  them  to  think  that  you've  been  frightened  into 
holding  your  tongue.  I  want  you  to  keep  clear  of 
police-stations  to-night,  as  we  shall  probably  be 
shadowed.  And  I  suggest  that  you  should  communi- 


260  THE  DAZZLING 

cate  witK  tlie  police,  if  you  mean  to  do  so,  by  letter 
only.  'And  give  a  warning  that,  if  a  policeman  is  sent 
to  see  you,  he  must  be  in  plain  clothes." 

Sir  William,  now  thoroughly  alarmed,  agreed  to 
all  these  suggestions  without  demur,  and  following 
the  directions  given  him,  took  care  not  to  go  near  a 
police-station  that  night. 

Two  days  later,  after  having  remained  indoors  all 
the  time,  he  wrote  to  Gerard  to  tell  him  to  keep  away 
from  the  Priory,  as  he  had  communicated  with  the 
police,  and  a  detective  was  to  be  among  the  guests  on 
the  following  Sunday.  He  said  that  he  had  written 
an  apology  to  Mrs.  Van  Santen,  and  "  made  it  all 
right  with  them."  And  ha  ended  by  a  hope  that 
Gerard  would  find  some  means  to  induce  Miss  Davi- 
son  to  break  off  her  connection  with  these  dubious 
people,  at  least  until  the  police  had  satisfied  them- 
selves about  them. 

Now  Gerard  dared  not  write  to  Miss  Davison,  for 
fear  of  his  letter  falling  into  other  hands  than  hers. 
All  he  could  do,  therefore,  was  to  go  down  to  the 
Priory  on  the  following  Sunday,  in  the  hope  that  he 
might  be  able  to  warn  her  to  get  away  in  time  to 
prevent  her  being  involved  in  the  catastrophe  which 
was  bound  to  come. 

He  was  very  nervous  as  he  approached  the  Priory, 
having  come  by  train,  as  on  the  last  occasion.  He 
wondered  whether  Harry  Van  Santen  knew  that  he 
had  been  recognized,  and  whether  he  would  find 


MISS  DAVISON  261 

marked  changes  to  have  taken  place  in  the  conduct  of 
the  establishment  since  the  sensational  charges 
brought  against  it  on  the  previous  Sunday. 

Rather  to  his  surprise,  he  found  everything  as 
usual  there.  Not  even  the  ladies,  who  had  been  the 
most  frequent  among  the  guests,  appeared  to  have 
been  frightened  away.  For  on  entering  the  drawing- 
room  where  they  were  all  assembled  after  luncheon, 
he  at  once  recognized  two  or  three  faces  of  ladies  who 
had  been  there  the  Sunday  before. 

If  possible,  the  gayety,  which  was  a  feature  of  the 
place,  was  greater  than  ever.  The  Van  Santens  all 
greeted  him  exactly  as  if  nothing  had  happened,  with 
the  exception  of  Mrs.  Van  Santen,  who  said  to  him 
triumphantly,  when  he  shook  hands  with  her  — 

"  Ah,  Mr.  Buckland,  I'm  very  pleased  to  see  you 
again.  Have  you  heard  that  your  friend  Sir  Wil- 
liam Gurdon  has  written  a  long  and  most  handsome 
apology  for  the  way  he  behaved  last  Sunday?  I  got 
it  on  Tuesday  last,  and  I  at  once  sent  a  copy  of  it 
to  all  the  ladies  and  gentlemen  who  were  here  when 
he  made  that  ill-mannered  outbreak.  I  couldn't  send 
you  one,  because  I  didn't  know  your  address.  But 
I'll  show  you  the  letter  itself  presently." 

Gerard  congratulated  her  as  well  as  he  could,  and 
in  the  meantime  his  eyes  roamed  about  in  search  of 
two  people:  Miss  Davison  for  one;  the  detective  who 
was  to  be  among  the  guests  this  day,  for  the  other. 

Miss   Davison  he  soon   discovered.     She  was  the 


262  THE  DAZZLING 

only  person  there  who  appeared  to  be  in  the  least 
changed  since  the  previous  Sunday.  Pale  she  always 
was,  but  now  she  was  ghastly;  while  the  dark  rings 
under  her  eyes  told  an  eloquent  tale  of  sleepless  nights, 
and  a  peculiar  haggard  look  about  the  outline  of 
her  face  betrayed  to  his  eyes,  keen  where  she  was  con- 
cerned, the  fact  that  she  had  been  rendered  uneasy 
and  unhappy  by  the  occurrences  of  the  momentous 
day. 

He  did  not  at  once  approach  her:  he  was  par- 
ticularly anxious  not  to  seem  in  a  great  hurry  to 
speak  to  her  alone,  and  besides,  he  felt  very  diffident 
as  to  her  reception  of  the  news  he  had  for  her. 

Would  she  take  the  warning  quietly  and  disappear 
in  time  to  escape  the  general  disaster?  Or  would  she 
betray  him,  and  make  use  of  the  information  he  had 
for  her  in  the  interests  of  the  Van  Santens  ? 

Gerard  could  not  make  up  his  mind  on  this  point; 
and  he  was  in  a  state  of  great  distress  as  to  whether 
he  was  about  to  render  her  a  great  service  or  to  ren- 
der one  to  the  American  swindlers  whom  he  dreaded 
to  find  were  her  accomplices. 

But  everything  must  be  risked  for  her  sake.  In 
the  meantime  he  looked  carefully  about  him,  in  the 
hope  of  discovering  among  those  of  the  guests  whom 
he  did  not  know  the  detective  who  was  to  be  there  on 
the  information  of  Sir  William. 

The  task  was  an  easy  one.  There  was  only  one 
strange  face  there,  that  of  a  man  with  a  heavy  black 


MISS  DAV1SON.  263 

mustache  who  was,  Gerard  thought,  unmistakably  a 
police  officer  in  disguise. 

This  fact  ascertained,  he  lost  no  time  in  approach- 
ing Miss  Davison,  and,  after  the  first  greetings,  said 
to  her  in  a  low  voice  — 

"  Don't  look  shocked,  I  beg.  I  have  to  warn  you 
that  there  is  a  police  detective  here  to-day.  Don't 
ask  me  how  I  know ;  but  you  may  depend  upon  its 
being  the  truth." 

Miss  Davison  bowed  her  head  in  grave  silence. 

"  I  was  sure  of  it ! "  she  said  in  a  low  voice. 


CHAPTER    XXI 

THEN  for  a  few  moments  there  was  silence.  The 
words  Miss  Davison  had  uttered  so  hastily,  in  re- 
sponse to  his  warning  that  there  was  a  detective  pres- 
ent, Gerard  could  not  but  look  upon  as  an  admis- 
sion. 

If  all  had  been  right  at  the  Priory,  why  should 
she  have  expected  to  see  there  an  agent  of  the  police? 

She  seemed  to  see  that  her  words  were  a  mistake, 
for  presently  she  laughed  without  much  merriment, 
and  said,  looking  at  him  with  a  steady  gaze  which 
had  in  it  something  of  what  he  felt  to  be  unmerited 
reproach  — 

"  And  so  your  friend  Sir  William  thinks  he  had 
better  be  on  the  safe  side.  That  is  what  you  call 
hedging,  isn't  it,  in  racing  matters?  He  writes  a 
letter  of  humble  apology  for  his  rudeness  to  Mrs. 
Van  Santen,  and  at  the  same  time  takes  care  to  ex- 
pose her  —  and  us  all,  to  the  ignominy  of  having  a 
detective  introduced  to  the  house  to  watch  us  and  to  see 
that  we  do  not  cheat  at  cards?  " 

Gerard  met  her  gaze  steadily. 

"  In  the  circumstances,  I  don't  think  he  is  to  be 
blamed,  Miss  Davison.  I  think,  on  the  contrary,  that 
his  conduct  is  more  excusable  than  mine.  For  as, 

264 


THE  DAZZLING  MISS  DAVISON  265 

whether  he  was  cheated  or  no,  he  undoubtedly  be- 
lieved that  he  was,  he  may  have  thought  himself  at 
liberty  to  use  all  possible  means  of  getting  proof  of 
the  fact.  I,  on  the  other  hand,  while  believing  that 
he  was  cheated,  and  that  other  people  have  been 
cheated  here,  have  warned  you  of  the  fact  that  the 
house  is  sheltering  a  detective,  although  I  am  afraid 
you  may  make  use  of  my  warning  to  put  these  thieves 
on  their  guard." 

Miss  Davison  heard  him  with  a  set  white  face,  but 
without  any  interruption.  They  were  standing  to- 
gether in  the  veranda,  for,  late  as  the  season  was, 
the  afternoon  was  so  fine  that  the  French  "windows 
were  open,  and  the  guests  of  the  Van  Santens  were 
strolling  in  and  out,  between  the  house  and  the 
grounds. 

After  a  short  pause  she  laughed  again  in  the  same 
hard,  forced  way  as  before. 

"  If  you  think  I  am  likely  to  put  thieves  on  their 
guard  against  the  possibility  of  detection,  you  must 
believe  that  I  am  a  friend,  not  to  say  an  accomplice, 
of  thieves  myself?  "  she  said  quietly,  at  last. 

Gerard  shook  his  head,  but  hesitated  what  to  re- 


At  last  he  said  :  "  I  can't  deny  that  I  believe  your 
friends  are  not  always  well  chosen.  I  have  had  proof 
of  it  before." 

"  Don't  you  think  that,  if  you  were  wise,  you 
would  leave  to  her  fate  a  woman  who  had  so  many 


266  THE  DAZZLING 

questionable  friends,  and  whom  you  could  not  depend 
upon  from  one  moment  to  another?  " 

Gerard  took  up  her  challenge  with  sudden  fire. 

"  Yes,"  he  said,  "  I  do  think  I  should  be  wiser  if 
I  could  do  as  you  suggest;  but,  unluckily  for  me,  I 
can't.  For,  good  or  ill,  Rachel,  I  love  you  so  much 
that  I  can't  believe  the  evidence  of  my  own  eyes  when 
you  are  in  question.  So  that  I  am  behaving  like  an 
imbecile,  and  persisting  in  refusing  to  believe  any- 
thing but  good  of  you,  even  though  I  am  forced  to 
believe  very  much  that  is  not  good  of  your  friends 
and  acquaintances." 

As  usual  when  he  made  a  speech  like  this,  owning 
his  steady  interest  in  her,  Miss  Davison's  face  broke 
up  into  softness  and  gentleness,  thus  riveting  his 
chains,  even  while  she  would  give  him  no  hope  that  she 
was  innocent  of  the  things  of  which  he  thus  by  im- 
plication accused  her. 

For  a  moment  he  thought  she  was  on  the  point  of 
bursting  into  tears.  But  she  exercised  strong  self- 
control,  and  carefully  abstaining  from  again  meeting 
his  eyes,  knowing  what  sort  of  look  she  should  meet 
if  she  did,  she  turned  her  head  languidly  in  the  direc- 
tion of  the  interior  of  the  house,  and  said  — 

"  But  you  mustn't  expect  me  to  do  anything  but 
take  their  part,  you  know.  Whatever  may  be 
thought,  or  fancied,  or  suspected  of  them  by  other 
people,  I  always  stand  by  my  own  side,  even  assist- 
ing them  to  the  utmost  of  my  power." 


MISS  DAVISON  267 

"  You  mean,"  whispered  Gerard  desperately,  "  that 
you  will  warn  the  Van  Santens  that  there  is  a  detec- 
tive here?  " 

She  turned  upon  him  sharply. 

"  Indeed  I  shall  do  nothing  of  the  kind ;  there's 
no  need.  Your  friend  has  behaved  absurdly,  and 
what  he  has  done  doesn't  make  the  least  difference. 
How  should  we  mind  who  sees  us,  since  we  have 
nothing  to  hide  ?  " 

"  I  wish  you  would  not  associate  yourself  with 
these  Americans,"  said  Gerard  irritably.  "  I  know 
very  well  that  you  have  nothing  to  hide,  but  I  be- 
lieve that  the  case  is  different  with  them.  If  you  be- 
lieve in  them  really,  honestly  believe  in  them  and 
trust  them  to  deal  honorably,  as  you  say  you  do,  I 
want  you  to  give  me  an  understanding,  a  promise." 

"  Well,  what  is  it?  " 

"  Will  you  promise  —  swear  —  that  you  will  not 
tell  the  Van  Santens  what  I  have  just  told  you?  " 

She  at  once  said,  in  a  low  voice,  but  firmly  and 
resolutely  — 

"  I  swear  that  I  will  not  tell  anyone  here  what  you 
have  just  told  me  —  about  the  presence  of  a  detec- 
tive." 

Gerard  was  surprised  at  this  readiness  to  give  her 
oath,  and  indeed  his  doubts  made  him  shudder.  Was 
she  perjuring  herself?  He  had  had  so  many  doubts 
of  her  before,  that  he  ought  not  to  have  felt  so 
strongly  about  this  fresh  one.  But  yet  he  shuddered 


268  THE  DAZZLING 

again  at  the  thought  that  she  could  be  committing  a 
crime,  just  as  he  had  done  before. 

Anxious  to  avoid  the  thought  that  she  had  sworn 
with  no  intention  of  keeping  her  oath,  he  asked  him- 
self whether  her  telling  them  would  be  useless,  and  they 
perhaps  knew  already  the  news  he  had  imparted  to  her. 
There  was  another  short  pause,  and  then  Miss  Davi- 
son  said  to  him  quickly,  as  she  put  her  hand  on  the 
window,  as  if  to  go  indoors  — 

"  There's  one  warning  I  ought  to  give  you.  As 
I  have  told  you,  it  doesn't  matter  a  bit  who  is  present, 
because  there  is  nothing  to  find  out,  and  the  play 
to-day  will  be  just  as  it  has  always  been.  But  if 
you  want  to  prevent  an  unpleasant  scene,  you  had 
better  keep  the  warning  you  have  given  me  to  your- 
self, and  not  tell  Arthur  Aldington." 

"Why  not?" 

"  Because  if  you  do,  he  will  tell  Cora  Van  Santen, 
and  she  will  be  indignant,  and  will  certainly  speak 
her  mind  openly  about  it,  and  there  will  be  an  ex- 
plosion of  wrath,  and  explanations,  and  inquiries, 
and  the  party  will  be  broken  up,  and  perhaps  the 
detective  himself  found  out,  exposed,  and  thrown  out 
of  the  house,  and  a  fresh  scandal  will  be  made,  just 
as  we  have  got  rid  of  the  old  one." 

Gerard  thought  this  very  good  advice,  though  he 
was  surprised  that  she  should  give  it.  He  readily 
agreed  not  to  say  anything  to  Arthur  about  the  pres- 
ence of  the  detective,  and  went  indoors  with  her  just 


MISS  D  AVI  SON  269 

in  time  to  see  the  arrival  of  a  batch  of  visitors, 
among  whom  he  saw  the  man  Cecil  Jones,  whom  he 
believed  to  be  a  decoy  of  the  Van  Santens. 

This  belief  was  strengthened  when  he  found  that 
Jones  was  in  a  jubilant  and  boastful  mood,  and  that 
he  was  telling  the  other  visitors  that  he  had  come  pre- 
pared to  beat  Denver  Van  Santen  at  poker,  having 
provided  himself  with  money  enough  to  bluff  him  to 
any  extent  he  liked. 

It  seemed  to  Gerard  that  no  man  would  have  talked 
like  this,  doing  his  best  to  invite  the  attentions  of  the 
spoiler,  after  the  scene  of  the  preceding  Sunday, 
which  must  certainly  have  been  talked  about  by  all 
the  habitues  of  the  Priory,  unless  he  was  an  absolute 
fool.  And  in  spite  of  his  sheepish  looks  and  gentle 
manners,  Gerard  had  reason  to  believe  that  Cecil 
Jones  was  by  no  means  so  silly  as  he  looked. 

Miss  Davison  was  not  the  woman  to  have  foolish 
friends;  and  that  Cecil  Jones  was  the  friend  he  had 
seen  her  with  on  more  than  one  occasion  previous  to 
his  visits  to  the  Priory  he  was  quite  sure. 

Gerard  decided,  therefore,  that  Jones,  in  his  char- 
acter of  decoy  to  the  rest  of  the  pigeons  whom  the 
Van  Santens  plucked,  had  been  allotted  this  role  of 
careless  and  wealthy  spendthrift  in  order  to  prove 
that,  in  spite  of  the  scene  of  the  preceding  Sunday, 
the  confidence  of  the  visitors  in  the  integrity  of  the 
Americans  was  as  great  as  ever. 

Gerard  was  annoyed  at  this  scheme  and  he  took 


270  THE  DAZZLING 

care  to  show  Cecil  Jones  that  he  did  not  believe  in 
his  bluff. 

"  You  were  not  here  last  Sunday,  I  think  ?  "  he 
said  dryly ;  "  but  no  doubt  you  heard  what  took  place 
here?" 

"  I  did  hear  about  it,  of  course,"  said  Jones,  rais- 
ing his  voice,  so  that  he  could  be  heard  by  the  rest 
of  the  people  in  the  music-room,  where  they  were 
standing ;  "  but  I  shouldn't  think  of  taking  the  word 
of  a  man  like  Sir  William  Gurdon  against  that  of 
people  I  know  and  like." 

"Why  not?" 

"  Well,  everyone  knows  what  he  is,  a  fellow  who 
is  getting  through  his  money  as  fast  as  he  can,  and 
who  is  as  careless  with  his  tongue  as  he  is  with  his 
cash,"  replied  Jones.  "  I  suppose  you  think,"  he  went 
on  rather  aggressively,  "  that,  after  last  Sunday, 
nobody  ought  to  play  anything  but  bagatelle  and 
dominoes  with  the  Van  Santens.  You  look  upon  me 
as  a  fool  to  risk  my  money  ?  " 

"  Oh  no,  I  don't,"  said  Gerard  quietly ;  "  because 
I  know  you  won't  risk  much." 

Although  Gerard  took  care  to  keep  his  voice  as 
low  as  that  of  Jones  was  loud,  Cora  and  Arthur, 
who  were,  as  usual,  at  the  piano  together,  were  so 
intently  interested  in  the  discussion  that  they  con- 
trived to  hear  these  words,  and  they  exchanged  looks. 

Cora  was  flushed  and  angry.  She  rose  from  her 
seat  at  the  piano  and  said  quickly  — 


MISS  DAV1SON  271 

"  Why  did  you  come  here  to-day,  Mr.  Buckland, 
if  you  believed  the  infamous  things  Sir  William  Gur- 
don  said,  things,  by  the  way,  that  he  has  apologized 
most  humbly  for?  " 

"  I  don't  think  I  could  have  given  a  better  proof 
that  I  took  the  right  side  in  the  argument  than  by 
appearing  here  to-day,  Miss  Cora,"  retorted  Gerard 
diplomatically. 

Even  while  he  spoke  to  her,  he  had  his  eye  on  Cecil 
Jones,  who  had  at  once  profited  by  Gerard's  turning 
away  to  follow  Miss  Davison  into  the  adjoining 
room. 

Cora  being  perforce  content  with  this  neat  reply, 
Gerard  managed  to  escape,  and  went  into  the  middle 
room,  where  Mrs.  Van  Santen  was  pouring  out  tea. 
He  thought  what  a  strange  contrast  she  made,  in  her 
simple  gown,  her  black  mittens,  and  the  old-fashioned 
brooch  and  hair  bracelets  which  she  persisted  in  wear- 
ing, with  the  elegantly  gowned  daughters  whose 
taste  in  dress  excited  the  admiration  of  the  men  vis- 
itors, and  the  envy  of  the  women. 

Her  quiet,  old-fashioned,  almost  abrupt  manner, 
too,  was  a  relief  after  the  artificiality  of  some  of  the 
other  visitors,  and  Gerard  wondered  how  she  had 
managed  so  soon  to  get  over  the  terrible  shock  of 
the  preceding  Sunday.  He  would  have  thought, 
knowing  the  simplicity  of  the  old  lady,  that  the  bare 
suggestion  of  anything  unfair  in  connection  with 
her  household  would  have  been  enough  to  make  her 


272  THE  DAZZLING 

shut  up  the  house,  and  return  in  dudgeon  to  America 
with  her  daughters. 

But  she  seemed  to  be  in  the  same  mood  of  placid 
good  spirits  as  usual ;  and  he  supposed  that  her  sons 
had  known  how,  by  getting  hold  of  her  by  her  weak 
side,  to  smooth  over  the  trouble,  and  to  persuade  her 
that  the  unpleasant  affair  was  only  a  passing 
cloud,  such  as  would  never  darken  their  atmosphere 
again. 

Close  beside  her  he  found,  among  others,  Cecil 
Jones  and  Miss  Davison.  He  could  see  that,  al- 
though they  said  little  to  each  other,  there  was  some 
secret  understanding  between  the  two,  and  he  was 
maddened  at  the  thought  that  she  had  already  broken 
her  oath,  and  that  she  was  using  Jones  as  a  go-be- 
tween to  carry  to  the  Van  Santens  her  knowledge 
that  there  would  be  a  detective  in  the  house  that  day 
to  watch  their  proceedings. 

Gerard  would  fain  have  believed  such  an  artful 
evasion  of  her  oath  impossible  to  Miss  Davison,  but 
in  the  face  of  all  that  he  suspected  this  was  scarcely 
credible. 

But  even  at  that  moment  the  thought  which 
troubled  him  the  most  was  that  Rachel  cared  for  Cecil 
Jones,  that  he  was  more  than  an  accomplice,  more 
than  a  friend,  that  he  was  her  confidant,  and  her 
lover. 

Nay,  the  thought  darted  into  his  mind  with  a  most 
poignant  rush  that  perhaps  he  might  be  her  husband, 


MISS  DAVISON  273 

and  that,  if  not,  he  was  probably  already  her  fiance. 

On  that  point  he  thought  that  she  might  perhaps 
be  more  candid  than  upon  the  other,  if  taxed,  and 
at  the  first  opportunity  he  followed  her  into  the  cor- 
ner of  the  room  where  she  had  seated  herself,  in  sight 
of  the  nearest  card-table  in  the  end  room,  on  the 
one  hand,  and  of  the  figure  of  Cora  seated  at  the 
piano,  on  the  other. 

There  was  a  seat  near  her,  and  he  stood  with  one 
knee  on  it,  as  he  bent  down  and  asked  — 

"  Will  you  answer  me  a  question  truly,  honestly, 
Rachel,  a  question  about  yourself  —  and  —  someone 
else?" 

"  I  can't  promise,"  said  she,  in  a  low  voice,  with, 
as  he  thought,  a  quick,  self-conscious  glance  towards 
Cecil  Jones. 

From  the  adjoining  room,  where  Denver  and  some 
other  men  were  playing  cards,  came  a  reminder,  in 
Denver's  voice,  of  the  other  man  of  whom  he  had  been 
jealous,  but  whose  chances  Gerard  now  rejected,  as 
he  could  not  believe  that  Miss  Davison  could  have 
given  her  heart  to  a  card-sharper,  who  was  also  some- 
thing worse. 

"  I  want  to  know  whether  this  Jones  is  engaged  to 
you?" 

A  faint  smile  passed  over  her  face,  one  of  those 
flitting,  quickly  fading  ripples  of  gentle  merriment 
which  were  characteristic  of  her. 

"  Why,"  she  said,  "  how  many  more  people  are  you 


274  THE  DAZZLING 

going  to  marry  me  to,  Mr.  Buckland?  There  was 
Denver  Van  Santen  —  and  now  — " 

He  interrupted  her  with  rash  eagerness. 

"Denver  Van  Santen!  No.  Even  if  you  could 
care  for  a  card-sharper,  which  I  own  might  be  pos- 
sible, you  could  not,  I'm  sure,  care  for  a  murderer ! " 

Miss  Davison,  who  was  leaning  back  carelessly  in 
her  chair,  sat  up,  looking  deadly  pale.  With  a  com- 
manding air,  she  made  him  sit  down  beside  her. 

"  What  do  you  mean?  "  she  asked,  fixing  him  with 
a  gaze  which  seemed  to  penetrate  to  his  very  soul.  It 
was  evident  that,  however  she  might  try  to  hide  the 
fact,  she  was  thrown  by  his  words  into  a  state  of 
keenest  tension. 

His  jealousy  grew  as  he  watched  the  change  in  her. 
Did  she  really  care  for  this  man,  then,  and  was  the 
tie  which  bound  her  to  Cecil  Jones  one  of  business 
interests  only? 

"  I  mean,"  said  he,  lowering  his  voice,  so  that  no 
one  else  should  hear  a  whisper  of  the  momentous 
words  he  had  to  utter,  "  that  Denver  Van  Santen  was 
the  cause  of  the  accident  to  Sir  William's  car  last 
week,  and  that  he  shadowed  us  with  a  revolver,  with 
what  object,  unless  he  meant  to  rid  himself  of  a  per- 
son whom  he  looked  upon  as  dangerous,  I  can't 
imagine." 

Miss  Davison  tried  to  laugh,  but  that  resource  she 
had  used  too  often  that  afternoon  and  her  voice 
sounded  hard  and  her  mirth  artificial. 


MISS  DAVISON  275 

"  How  absurd ! "  she  cried.  "  Can  anything  be 
more  preposterous  than  to  accuse  a  person  on  such 
flimsy  grounds?  for  of  course  you  only  suppose  that 
you  saw  Denver,  and  Sir  William  only  supposes  it 
also." 

He  saw,  however,  in  her  eyes,  as  she  uttered  the 
words,  that  she  felt  by  no  means  so  certain  as  she 
pretended  to  be  of  the  childlike  innocence  of  the 
young  poker-player. 

"  We  do  more  than  suppose,"  he  said  quietly ;  "  we 
are  both  quite  sure  of  what  we  saw." 

She  was  silent  for  a  moment.  Then  her  eyes  stole 
a  stealthy  glance  at  the  card-playing  party  in  the 
next  room.  Gerard  watched  her,  and  said  — 

"  I  have  told  you  why  I  don't  believe  you  can  care 
for  Denver  Van  Santen.  I  want  to  know  whether 
you  care  for  the  other  fellow." 

She  turned  to  him  with  a  scoffing  air. 

"  How  on  earth  can  it  matter  to  you  for  whom  I 
care,  Mr.  Buckland,  when  you  look  upon  me  as  an 
accomplice  of  card-sharpers  ?  "  she  asked  lightly. 

"  I  don't  know  why  I  do  care,"  he  replied  des- 
perately, "  except  that  you  are  such  an  enigma  that 
every  detail  concerning  you  is  of  surpassing  interest 
to  me.  I  don't  understand  you.  I  believe  it's  diffi- 
cult to  understand  any  woman ;  but  certainly  I  never 
believed  it  until  I  met  you.  But  it  seems  to  me  that 
you  unite  in  your  own  person  all  the  puzzling  at- 
tributes of  all  the  women  who  ever  lived.  The  con- 


276  THE  DAZZLING 

sequence  is  that  I  adore  you  at  one  moment,  I  hate 
you  the  next.  One  day  I  believe  that  all  my  sus- 
picions of  you  are  flimsy  and  groundless,  and  that  I 
only  want  the  key  to  solve  the  mystery  which  will 
show  you  to  be  all  A  want  to  believe  you ;  the  next  day 
I  can  see  in  you  only  a  malignant  enchantress,  charm- 
ing men  to  their  undoing,  without  heart  and  without 
conscience." 

"  I've  told  you  to  believe  that  last  description  to 
be  true,  haven't  I  ?  " 

"  But  I  can't  —  I  won't.  Rachel,  when  I  spoke  to 
you  before  about  my  feeling  for  you,  you  promised 
to  ask  to  be  set  free." 

"  And  I  did  ask  —  as  I  wrote  you  —  and  was  re- 
fused. Don't  begin  the  old  argument  again.  It  is 
of  no  use.  You  shouldn't  have  come  here  to-day  — 
you  shouldn't  have  come  here  at  all.  It  is  all  pain, 
nothing  but  pain  and  distress  that  you  give  yourself 
and  me  by  coming.  Mr.  Buckland,  be  warned  by 
me.  This  is  not  the  place  where  women  —  or  men, 
either  —  are  seen  at  their  best.  I  don't  mean  that 
there  is  any  harm  in  what  we  do,  but  the  atmosphere 
is  not  good,  not  wholesome.  Take  my  advice:  say 
good-bye  to  me  now,  and  go  back  to  town,  and  don't 
come  here  again.  As  I've  told  you,  my  way  and 
yours  lie  far  apart;  there  is  no  advantage  in  pre- 
tending not  to  know  it.  Now,  will  you  be  good,  and 
wish  me  good-bye,  and  find  you  have  an  appointment 
in  town  that  takes  you  back  early?  " 


MISS  D  AVI  SON  277 

The  lights  had  been  turned  up,  and  Gerard  knew 
that  old  Mrs.  Van  Santen,  from  her  corner  of  the 
room  near  the  tea-table,  was  watching  him  and  Miss 
Davison.  These  two  were  sitting  close  by  the  cur- 
tains of  the  wide  window,  partly  hidden  by  one  of 
them,  indeed,  though  not  sufficiently  for  the  old  lady 
not  to  be  able  to  see  that  something  very  interesting 
was  the  subject  of  their  conversation. 

Gerard  felt  her  eyes  upon  him,  even  when  he  was 
not  looking  at  her;  and  presently,  even  while  he  was 
so  much  occupied  with  Rachel,  he  saw  the  old  lady 
beckon  Delia  to  her,  and  speak  to  her  hurriedly,  in 
a  low  voice. 

In  the  meantime  he  turned  to  Miss  Davison  and 
answered  her  question  after  a  short  pause. 

"  I  won't  distress  you  by  arguing  in  the  old  way 
again,"  he  said.  "  But  I  can't  take  your  advice 
about  going  back  to  town  immediately,  though  I 
know  your  counsel  is  good.  I  want  to  see  it  out." 

"To  see  what  out?" 

Miss  Davison's  eyes  were  attracted  too,  by  this 
time,  in  the  direction  of  the  old  lady  and  Delia. 

Gerard  hesitated. 

"  Well,  shall  we  say  the  sequel  to  last  Sunday's 
scene?  " 

At  that  Miss  Davison  remained  quite  silent  for 
some  moments,  with  her  eyes  cast  down,  and  her  hands 
lying  immovable  in  her  lap. 

"  I  don't  understand,"  she  said  at  last. 


278  THE  DAZZLING  MISS  DAV1SON 

He  had  no  time  to  explain  before  Mrs.  Van  Santen, 
rising  from  her  chair,  crossed  the  room,  taking  such 
a  course  that  she  came  quite  close  to  the  two  young 
people.  Gerard  therefore,  did  not  speak  until  he  had 
watched  the  old  lady  go  into  the  card-room,  where 
he  saw  her  standing  close  to  Denver,  without  being 
able  to  hear  whether  she  spoke  to  him. 

In  the  meantime  Delia  came  strolling  across  to  the 
window,  and  rearranged  a  curtain  which  had  been 
pulled  away  from  its  proper  folds  by  a  chair  placed 
near  it. 

It  was  out  of  the  question,  therefore,  for  Gerard 
to  give  Miss  Davison  any  explanation  of  his  rather 
momentous  words  while  members  of  the  Van  Santen 
family  were  flitting  about  so  close  to  them.  And  be- 
fore Delia  had  moved  away,  Denver  Van  Santen,  quit- 
ting the  card-table,  came  up,  and  unceremoniously 
drawing  a  chair  close  to  Miss  Davison,  leaned  forward 
and  looked  sentimentally  into  her  face. 

"  Guess  I'm  not  going  to  let  that  fellow  have  you 
all  to  himself  this  evening,  Miss  Davison,"  said  he. 

And,  as  Rachel  received  this  speech  with  an  en- 
couraging smile,  instead  of  snubbing  the  fellow,  as 
he  felt  that  she  ought  to  do,  Gerard  had  nothing  to 
do  but  to  withdraw  and  leave  the  Yankee  in  full  and 
undisputed  possession  of  the  field. 


CHAPTER    XXII 

Now  although  it  had  seemed  to  Gerard,  when  he  first 
arrived  at  the  Priory  that  afternoon,  that  all  was  as 
usual  there,  he  had  long  before  this  discovered  that 
this  was  by  no  means  the  case. 

Everything  did  indeed  look  as  it  had  looked  on  his 
previous  visits.  The  visitors  were  quite  as  numerous, 
the  conversation  was  quite  as  lively.  The  groups 
moved  about  from  room  to  room,  listened  to  the  music 
at  one  end  of  the  suite,  played  cards  at  the  other,  and 
drank  tea  between  the  two,  with  just  the  same  ap- 
pearance of  having  nothing  on  their  minds  but  the 
amusement  of  the  moment. 

The  Van  Santens,  on  their  side,  behaved  exactly 
as  they  had  always  behaved;  the  young  men  played 
bridge  and  poker,  with  intervals  of  conversation  and 
laughter  with  those  of  their  guests  who  did  not  care 
for  cards.  Cora  sang  as  sweetly  as  ever,  was  just  as 
charming  when,  instead  of  singing  or  playing,  she 
was  listening  to  Arthur's  impassioned  speeches,  or 
lisping  out  her  little  crisp  sentences  by  way  of  her 
share  in  the  general  conversation. 

Delia,  as  usual,  flitted  from  group  to  group,  never 
in  the  same  place  long,  and  always  bringing  with  her 

279 


280  THE  DAZZLING 

a  sense  of  repose  and  ease,  the  result  of  the  singularly 
tactful  and  neat  way  she  had  of  setting  things  right 
when  they  were  going  wrong. 

Mrs.  Van  Santen,  perhaps,  showed  traces  of  the 
emotion  which  the  unpleasant  scene  of  the  preceding 
Sunday  had  caused  her.  She  was  sensible  enough,  dear 
old  soul,  not  to  disturb  the  general  harmony  by  any 
open  allusion  to  the  trouble  on  that  occasion,  or  by 
any  appearance  of  anxiety  about  the  present.  But 
she  did  not  look  quite  so  peaceful,  quite  so  serene,  as 
she  had  looked  before,  and  Gerard  was  quite  sure 
that  she  was  keeping  a  watchful  eye  on  her  card-play- 
ing sons,  lest  any  more  disturbances  should  break  the 
peace  of  her  family  and  her  guests. 

But  underneath  all  this  surface  appearance  of 
calm  and  pleasure  Gerard  was  now  conscious  that 
there  was  a  current  of  anxiety,  a  subdued  unrest, 
which  infected  the  whole  of  the  Van  Santen  family, 
and  had  spread,  perhaps  without  their  being  fully 
aware  of  it,  to  their  guests. 

It  was  easily  explained,  of  course,  by  the  occur- 
rences of  the  preceding  Sunday,  by  the  inevitable  self- 
consciousness  which  they  had  produced  in  everybody ; 
so  that  the  visitors  felt  impelled  to  be  more  sprightly 
and  more  at  ease  than  usual,  and  the  family,  on  their 
side,  had  to  keep  up  an  air  of  having  absolutely  for- 
gotten the  ill-mannered  attack  made  upon  one  of 
them  by  the  hasty  and  impetuous  Sir  William. 

Thus  the  general  atmosphere  seemed  to  be  electric, 


MISS  D  AVI  SON  281 

charged  with  a  sort  of  vague  danger,  and  conducive 
to  excitement  and  unrest. 

When  Gerard  found  himself  ousted  by  Denver,  he 
retreated  to  the  music-room,  and  there  he  found 
Arthur  and  Cora,  no  longer  at  the  piano,  but  con- 
versing with  intense  seriousness  in  a  corner  of  the 
room.  He  had  scarcely  entered,  when  Mrs.  Van  San- 
ten  came  in,  noiselessly,  but  wearing  a  look  of  unusual 
excitement  in  her  good  old  face.  She  went  straight 
to  Cora,  said  a  few  words  to  her  in  an  undertone, 
and  went  back  again  into  the  next  room. 

Then  Cora  spoke  to  Arthur,  and  he,  after  a  few 
minutes'  earnest  conversation  with  her,  sauntered 
across  the  room  to  Gerard. 

"  It  seems,"  he  said,  "  that  the  Van  Santens  are 
rather  surprised  to  see  you  here  to-day.  They  had 
an  idea,  I  think,  that  you  took  the  part  of  Sir  Wil- 
liam Gurdon  against  them." 

By  a  rapid  process  of  thought,  Gerard  knew  how 
this  idea  had  arisen  in  their  minds.  He  had  left  the 
Priory  by  himself  on  the  preceding  Sunday,  and  had 
only  met  Sir  William  afterwards.  As  he  had  ex- 
pressed no  opinion  favorable  to  Sir  William's  cause 
previous  to  that,  but  as  he  had,  on  the  contrary,  done 
his  best  to  persuade  the  baronet  that  he  had  made  a 
mistake,  it  was  clear  that  Cora's  idea  could  not  be 
based  on  what  she  had  then  seen  and  heard. 

It  was  because  Denver  had  followed  Sir  William, 
having  injured  the  tire  of  his  car  in  order  to  bring 


282  THE  DAZZLING 

him  to  a  standstill,  and  because  he  had  then  dis- 
covered Gerard  in  the  baronet's  company,  and  the 
family  understood  him  to  be  on  the  side  of  the 
enemy. 

He  was  careful,  however,  to  give  no  hint  of  what 
he  knew  to  Arthur  when  he  was  thus  accused  of  sid- 
ing with  the  baronet. 

"Surprised  to  see  me,  are  they?"  said  he.  "Do 
you  mean  that  they  wish  me  to  withdraw  ?  " 

"  No,  no,  oh  no,  of  course  not,"  said  Arthur 
hastily.  "  But  they  want  to  understand  how  it  is 
that  you  have  changed  your  mind  about  that?  And 
whether  you  have  seen  Sir  William  since?  " 

Gerard  perceived  that  Cora  had  sent  her  obedient 
slave,  Arthur,  to  try  to  "  pump "  him  as  to  his 
position  and  intentions.  It  was  part  of  the  general 
uneasiness  that  he  had  noticed  that  they  wanted  to 
know  precisely  the  attitude  taken  up  by  each  of  their 
visitors.  And  Gerard  knew  that  he  was  especially 
under  observation,  on  account  of  his  known  admira- 
tion for  Miss  Davison  and  Denver's  possible  jealousy, 
as  well  as  because  he  was  now  known  to  have  been  the 
cause  of  the  miscarriage  of  Denver's  projected  at- 
tack upon  Sir  William. 

Although  neither  he  nor  the  baronet  could  have 
sworn  to  the  identity  of  the  figure,  which  had 
shadowed  them  and  which  they  had  then  pursued,  with 
Denver  Van  Santen,  or  of  the  fact  that  he  had  been 


MISS  D  AVI  SON  283 

armed,  there  was  very  little  doubt  in  the  minds  of 
either  upon  those  points. 

Knowing  that  his  answer  would  be  faithfully  re- 
ported, Gerard  answered  with  caution  — 

"  Seen  Sir  William !  Oh  yes,  I  went  up  to  town 
with  him  last  Sunday.  We  started  in  his  car,  but  had 
a  breakdown  and  went  back  by  train." 

"  And  did  you  persuade  him  to  think  better  of  his 
disgraceful  conduct  ?  " 

"  I  persuaded  him  —  or  rather,  I  helped  to  per- 
suade him  —  to  write  an  apology  to  Mrs.  Van  San- 
ten." 

"  And  you  quite  see  that  he  made  a  fool  of  him- 
self? " 

Gerard  hesitated. 

"  I  don't  think  his  conduct  was  very  wise,"  he  ad- 
mitted at  last. 

"  Or  that  he  was  justified  in  bringing  such  an  ac- 
cusation ?  " 

"  I  think,  if  he  thought  what  he  did,  it  would  have 
been  better  to  talk  things  over  with  his  own  friends 
before  making  a  scene." 

This  answer  was  not  at  all  what  Arthur  wanted. 
It  made  him  uneasy. 

"  Surely  you  don't  think  there  was  anything  in  it  ? 
I  can't  think  you  would  be  here  to-day  if  you  had 
thought  there  was !  " 

"  Well,  we  needn't  discuss  that  now.     It's  a  sub- 


284  THE  DAZZLING 

ject  we  should  be  bound  to  get  warm  over,  whatever 
we  thought,  isn't  it?  "  said  he  soothingly. 

"  It  certainly  makes  me  warm  to  hear  a  doubt  cast 
upon  my  friends." 

"  No  doubt  has  been  cast  on  anybody  by  me,"  re- 
plied Gerard  quickly.  "  If  they  want  to  know,  you 
can  tell  them  so." 

Arthur  went  away,  evidently  not  quite  satisfied, 
and  Gerard  strolled  through  the  adjoining  room  into 
the  card-room  at  the  end  of  the  suite. 

There  had  been  changes  in  the  position  of  affairs 
during  the  short  interval  since  he  left  Miss  Davison 
conversing  with  Denver  in  the  middle  room. 

Rachel  herself  had  disappeared,  and  he  learned 
from  Delia,  who,  in  the  course  of  her  pacifying  er- 
rands, met  him  and  asked  him  whether  he  was  going 
to  play  bridge,  that  she  had  gone  upstairs  with  a 
headache. 

This  statement  was  received  by  Gerard  with  certain 
vague  suspicions. 

He  entered  the  card-room,  and  found  play  in  full 
swing  at  four  different  tables.  As  usual,  Harry 
Van  Santen  was  playing  bridge,  and  Denver  was 
having  his  usual  luck  at  poker. 

The  table  at  which  he  sat  was  the  nearest  to  the 
door  communicating  with  the  adjoining  room,  and 
it  was  also  the  nearest  to  the  window,  which  was 
closed  and  hidden  behind  the  drawn  curtains. 

Cecil  Jones  formed  one  of  the  poker  party,  and 


MISS  DAVISON  285 

he  was  being  eased  of  the  money  of  which  he  had 
boasted. 

But  Gerard,  who  had  now  had  time  to  consider 
his  face  well,  was  surprised  to  note  in  his  usually 
sheepish  face  something  which  made  him  quite  sure 
that  there  was  some  mystery  about  this  friend  of 
Miss  Davisons.  He  had  suspected  it  before,  but  he 
was  now  sure  of  it.  Not  only  was  there  under  his 
expression  of  surface  silliness  an  occasional  look  which 
showed  intelligence  of  a  quite  unusual  kind,  but  there 
was  to-day  in  his  manner  a  certain  quiet  watchfulness, 
which  made  Gerard  think  he  was  lying  in  wait  for 
something. 

What  that  something  was  —  whether  a  signal  from 
one  of  the  Van  Santens,  or  a  scene,  or  a  signal  from 
somebody  else  and  another  sort  of  scene  —  he  could 
not  be  sure.  But  that  there  was  trouble  of  some 
kind  in  the  air  he  knew  quite  well. 

He  almost  thought,  indeed,  as  he  watched  Cecil 
Jones  from  the  doorway,  and  saw  him  losing  his 
money  with  little  silly  exclamations  of  impatience  or 
surprise,  that  the  man  appeared  to  be  listening  for 
something. 

Once  or  twice  he  glanced  in  the  direction  of  the 
window,  although,  as  it  was  closed  and  curtained,  he 
could  see  nothing  whatever  of  it. 

He  lost  more  and  more  heavily  as  time  went  on, 
and  bore  his  losses  with  wonderful  equanimity. 

But  when  play  had  gone  on  for  some  time,  and 


286  THE  DAZZLING 

while  He  was  Heing  steadily  eased  of  his  money, 
Gerard  heard  a  soft  rustling  sound  behind  him,  and 
turning  quickly  saw  that  old  Mrs.  Van  Santen  was 
standing  at  his  elbow,  with  a  look  of  indescribable 
terror  and  distress  upon  her  face.  It  seemed  to  him 
that  she  was  watching  Cecil  Jones  as  if  he  had  been, 
not  the  innocent  idiot  he  looked,  or  the  confederate 
which  Gerard  had  till  that  day  believed  him  to  be 
of  her  sons,  but  some  harbinger  of  evil,  some  messen- 
ger of  adverse  fate. 

And  in  a  moment  the  last  rag  of  suspicion  that 
Jones  could  be  a  decoy  and  a  partner  in  the  Van  San- 
ten  operations  fled  from  Gerard's  mind. 

The  game  went  on,  meanwhile,  although  it  seemed 
to  him  that  the  old  lady  would  fain  have  stopped 
it.  She  even  made  an  attempt  to  catch  Denver's  eye, 
and  partially  succeeded  at  last.  But  he  only  made 
her  an  abrupt  sign  to  withdraw,  and  went  on  with  the 
congenial  task  of  winning  from  the  placid  Jones  the 
money  which  he  had  so  openly  boasted  of  having 
brought  with  him. 

At  a  sign  from  her  son,  Mrs.  Van  Santen  suddenly 
disappeared,  and  Gerard  saw  her  no  more  for  some 
time,  and  wondered  whether  she  had  retired  to  "  have 
a  good  cry  "  over  her  son's  gambling  propensities, 
and  the  troubles  which  she  perhaps  foresaw  for  him 
in  consequence. 

Gerard,  who  was  quite  sure  in  his  own  mind  that 


MISS  DAVISON  287 

Cecil  Jones  was  being  robbed,  and  that  he  was  aware 
of  the  fact,  found  himself  growing  more  and  more 
excited,  as  he  waited,  in  a  state  of  extreme  nerve-ten- 
sion, for  the  crisis  which  he  felt  must  be  approach- 
ing. 

The  sounds  of  voices,  of  movements,  became  dull 
and  confused  in  his  mind;  the  figures  of  the  players 
became  blurred,  and  a  sort  of  singing  in  his  ears 
warned  him  that  he  had  better  find  relief  to  his  in- 
tense excitement  in  the  open  air,  when  suddenly,  just 
as  he  was  turning  to  go  towards  the  French  window 
of  the  middle  room,  there  was  a  sound  like  the  hissing 
of  a  serpent,  followed  immediately  by  the  overthrow 
of  half  a  dozen  chairs,  and  turning,  he  saw  that,  as 
he  had  foreseen,  the  crisis  had  come. 

Cecil  Jones,  leaning  across  the  card-table,  had 
seized  Denver's  arm,  and  dragged  out  from  the  sleeve 
of  the  American  a  card,  which  he  flung  down,  face 
upwards,  upon  the  table. 

Leaning  across  the  table,  and  looking  up  steadily 
into  the  face  of  the  baffled  Denver,  who  had  sprung 
up  from  his  chair,  and  was  standing,  still  in  the  grip 
of  Jones,  pale  with  rage  and  discomfiture,  Jones  said, 
in  a  quiet  voice  that  carried  clearly  to  every  corner  of 
the  room  and  into  that  beyond  — 

"  I  thought  so.     You  are  a  card-sharper !  " 

In  an  instant  there  was  an  uproar  in  the  room. 

The  men  who  had  been  playing  at  the  same  table 


288  THE  DAZZLING 

with  Denver  and  Jones  were  on  their  feet  already, 
exclaiming,  protesting,  uttering  indignant  exclama- 
tions. 

There  was  now  a  rush  from  the  other  tables,  and 
Harry  Van  Santen  led  the  crowd  that  gathered  round 
the  detected  cheat. 

Harry,  with  a  very  white  face,  uttered  a  harsh 
laugh  which  was  meant  to  be  reassuring,  but  which 
was  hollow,  hideous,  unreal,  and  horrible  to  hear. 

"What's  this?"  he  cried.  "It's  a  trick,  a  silly 
trick  that  some  of  you  have  played  upon  my  brother ! 
Who  is  it?  You,  Jones?  Come,  speak  up  and  own 
to  it  like  a  man." 

Hard  as  was  his  forced  laughter,  the  manner  of  the 
older  American  was  so  assured,  his  voice  was  so  deep 
and  so  confident,  that  one  or  two  of  the  men  present 
seemed  at  first  inclined  to  believe  that  the  version  of 
the  affair  which  he  was  trying  to  maintain  was  the 
true  one. 

But  Cecil  Jones  suddenly  sprang  up  from  his 
sprawling  attitude,  and  stood  erect. 

"  Gentlemen,"  he  said,  addressing,  conspicuously, 
not  the  two  Americans,  but  the  rest  of  the  company, 
"  there  has  been  systematic  cheating  carried  on  here, 
as  some  of  you  might  have  guessed,  I  should  think. 
Don't  be  alarmed.  There  is  nothing  to  be  feared 
except  by  the  men  who  have  robbed  you." 

The  uproar  of  voices,  excited,  indignant,  which 


MISS  D  AVI  SON  289 

had  ceased  when  he  began  to  speak,  rose  again  when 
he  left  off. 

In  the  midst  of  it,  there  was  a  shrill  scream,  and 
Mrs.  Van  Santen,  looking,  not  the  dear,  simple  old 
lady  they  were  all  used  to,  but  a  very  virago,  with 
flaming  eyes  and  harsh  voice,  cried,  addressing  Harry 
and  Denver  — 

"  You  can't  get  away.  The  house  is  sur- 
rounded ! " 


CHAPTER  XXIII 

SOMETHING  in  the  altered  appearance  of  Mrs.  Van 
Santen,  as  she  came  in  with  resolute  air  and  ad- 
dressed her  sons  in  a  harsh,  strident  voice,  revealed 
to  Gerard,  as  by  a  flash  of  inspiration,  some  of  the 
truth  respecting  her. 

That  is  to  say,  he  recognized  that  he  had  been  de- 
ceived in  her ;  that  the  gentle,  amiable,  simple  old  lady, 
with  her  primitive  dress  and  air  of  surprise  at  her 
new  surroundings  was  a  fraud;  that,  far  from  being 
the  innocent  old  lady  she  appeared  to  be,  grateful  for 
the  recognition  of  her  smart  English  friends,  and 
amazed  at  the  position  in  which  she  found  herself  in 
that  English  society  which  she  had  been  taught  to 
consider  stiff  and  exclusive,  Mrs.  Van  Santen  was  in 
truth  a  very  keen-eyed  woman,  who  understood 
thoroughly  that  British  idiosyncrasy  of  being  exclu- 
sive to  its  own  countrymen,  but  over-ready  to  receive 
foreigners  at  their  own  valuation ;  that  she  had  been 
quick  to  avail  herself  of  it,  and  to  do  all  in  her  power 
to  assist  her  family  towards  a  good  position  in  Eng- 
lish society,  by  a  very  clever  affectation  of  humility 
and  simplicity  combined,  which  had  disarmed  while  it 
charmed. 

290 


THE  DAZZLING  MISS  DAVISON  291 

The  old  woman  advanced  into  the  card-room,  and, 
looking  around  her  with  eyes  which  were  keen  and 
sharp  and  penetrating,  said,  in  an  undertone  — 

"  Where's  that  Davison  girl?  I  believe  it's  she  who 
is  at  the  bottom  of  this ! " 

In  the  turmoil  which  had  succeeded  to  the  dead 
silence  with  which  her  first  announcement  that  the 
house  was  surrounded  was  received,  Mrs.  Van  Santen 
was  the  coolest  person  in  the  room. 

Denver  had  leaped  to  the  window  with  an  oath, 
had  looked  out  into  the  garden  from  the  shelter  of 
the  curtains,  and  had  drawn  back  again,  with  his 
fresh  color  gone,  and  the  look  of  a  hunted  animal  in 
his  handsome  eyes. 

Harry,  on  the  other  hand,  had  begun  to  busy  him- 
self in  hastily  collecting  not  only  the  cards  which  were 
lying  on  the  table,  but  the  money  as  well.  In  this 
latter  occupation,  however,  he  was  stopped  by  Cecil 
Jones,  who,  having  kept  a  keen  eye  on  all  that  hap- 
pened after  his  first  unmasking  of  Denver,  noted 
Harry's  occupation,  and  at  once  checked  him  in  it. 

"  You  had  better  leave  the  stakes  alone,"  said  he 
quietly.  "  They  are  not  yours,  you  know." 

Harry  Van  Santen  showed  fewer  signs  of  emotion 
than  his  brother  had  done.  On  being  thus  challenged, 
he  just  shrugged  his  shoulders,  raised  his  eyebrows, 
and  withdrawing  from  the  group  that  was  clamoring 
round  the  tables,  sat  down  in  a  corner,  with  his  face 
to  the  back  of  his  chair,  and  leaned  down  upon  his 


292  THE  DAZZLING 

arms,  biting  his  nails  and  keeping  his  eyes  down. 

It  flashed  through  Gerard's  mind  as  he  looked  at 
him  that  he  must  have  been  through  similar  scenes 
before,  that  he  knew  it  was  best  to  take  things  quietly, 
and  to  lie  in  wait  for  a  chance  to  escape. 

Meanwhile  Denver  was  blustering,  assuring  his 
guests  that  there  was  no  need  to  be  uneasy,  that  an 
ugly  trick  was  being  played  upon  them,  and  that,  if 
the  ladies  would  retire,  he  and  the  other  men  would 
find  out  who  were  the  authors  of  this  fresh  outrage, 
and  would  soon  set  matters  right. 

Of  this  advice,  however,  no  notice  was  taken. 
There  were  several  ladies  present,  but  they  were  all 
what  Denver  himself  irreverently  spoke  of  as  "  old 
stagers,"  women  of  rank  or  social  position  established 
enough  not  to  be  daunted  by  the  prospect  of  another 
"  row,"  and  old  enough  to  know  that  the  quieter  they 
were  the  better  were  their  own  chances  of  getting  out 
of  the  ugly  affair  with  dignity. 

All,  moreover,  were  curious  as  to  the  issue  of  this 
business;  and  though  one  lady  affected  to  be  on  the 
verge  of  hysterics,  as  nobody  was  at  leisure  to  take 
any  notice  of  her,  she  speedily  recovered  sufficiently 
to  take  the  same  interest  as  the  rest  in  what  was  going 
on. 

For  events  now  began  to  move  fast. 

Someone  said  "  Hush !  "  and  then  all  became  aware 
that  there  were  voices  and  footsteps  to  be  heard  out- 
side the  house.  One  man  went  behind  the  curtains  to 


MISS  D  AVI  SON  293 

look  out,  and  came  back  with  a  serious  expression  of 
face,  to  confirm  Mrs.  Van  Santen's  sensational  state- 
ment. 

The  house  was  surrounded,  and  they  were  all 
virtually  in  custody. 

Not  one  of  the  people  assembled,  with  the  excep- 
tion of  old  Mrs.  Van  Santen,  made  an  attempt  to 
leave  the  room.  She  crossed  the  room  with  amazing 
rapidity  for  one  of  her  years,  but  finding  that  some- 
one had  locked  the  door,  she  turned  back  again,  and 
stood  with  a  fierce  look  on  her  face,  but  without  speak- 
ing, with  her  back  to  the  door,  watching  for  the 
crisis. 

Then  there  was  a  rattle  and  a  rush  in  the  next 
room,  and  a  female  voice,  which  they  believed  to  be 
Cora's,  uttered  a  slight  scream. 

Then  two  policemen  in  uniform  came  into  the  room, 
and  the  foremost  came  up  to  the  table  and  looked 
round. 

Before  he  could  speak,  Cecil  Jones,  from  the  oppo- 
site side  of  the  table,  addressed  him  — 

"  There  are  five  of  them,"  he  said,  "  two  men  and 
three  women.  Three  out  of  the  five  are  in  this  room, 
the  other  two  are,  I  believe,  in  those  two  rooms  ad- 
joining," and  he  pointed  to  the  other  drawing-rooms. 
"  These  are  the  two  men."  He  pointedly  rapidly  to 
Denver  and  Harry  Van  Santen,  and  then,  turning,  in- 
dicated Mrs.  Van  Santen,  as  he  added :  "  And  this  is 
the  head  of  them  all," 


294  THE  DAZZLING 

While  He  was  speaking  three  or  four  more  men  had 
come  quietly  into  the  room,  and  by  the  time  he  had 
ended  both.  Denver  and  Harry  Van  Santen  found 
themselves  practically  prisoners,  each  having  a  con- 
stable in  uniform  on  either  side  of  him. 

Cecil's  Jones's  concluding  words  had  created  a  sort 
of  subdued  hubbub  in  the  room.  The  amazement  with 
which  the  onlookers  learned  that  the  dear  old  lady, 
whom  they  had  all  condescendingly  pitied  and  rather 
liked,  was  the  head  of  a  gang  of  swindlers  caused 
a  new  and  strange  excitement  to  ferment  In  the 
room. 

They  looked  at  each  other,  they  looked  at  Mrs. 
Van  Santen,  and  were  shocked  to  see  in  her  usually 
mild  eyes  the  ferocity  of  a  wild  beast  at  bay,  as  two 
constables  came  up  to  her,  and,  without  attempting  to 
touch  her,  kept  her  between  them  and  stood  on  the 
watch  one  on  each  side. 

"  Mrs.  Van  Santen !  Isn't  it  a  mistake  ?  "  whispered 
some  of  the  ladies  present.  But  the  voice  of  Cecil 
Jones  cut  short  the  whispers. 

"  That  is  Catherine  Burge,  the  woman  who  did 
fourteen  years  for  insurance  frauds,"  was  the  answer 
which  Jones  gave  to  a  man  who  was  remonstrating 
against  the  indignity  offered  to  the  old  lady. 

A  murmur  of  dismay  ran  through  the  room,  and 
passed  on  to  the  next,  where  all  the  rest  of  the  guests 
were  congregated  in  an  eager  group  close  to  the  door 
of  the  card-room. 


MISS  DAY  I  SON  295 

Arthur  was  in  the  middle  of  this  group,  and  beside 
him  was  Cora  Van  Santen,  the  woman  whom  he  looked 
upon  as  the  loveliest  and  sweetest  in  the  world. 

Cora  was  deathly  pale,  and  her  teeth  were  tightly 
set  and  her  slender  hands  were  clenched;  but  she  had 
not  said  one  word  after  the  scream  she  had  given  when 
the  police  entered  the  house. 

Now,  however,  she  suddenly  asked  a  question.  As 
half  a  dozen  more  constables  came  in  single  file  into 
the  room  in  which  she  was,  entering  by  way  of  the 
French  window,  and  at  once  taking  up  a  position  be- 
hind the  group  in  the  doorway,  she  said  to  Arthur, 
in  a  fierce  undertone  — 

"Who  let  them  in?" 

"  I  don't  know,"  said  Arthur,  who  felt  sick  and  cold 
with  excitement  and  the  dread  of  hearing  something 
which  would  reflect  upon  the  woman  he  admired. 

Delia,  who  was  also  in  the  group,  and  who  heard 
these  words  asked  and  answered,  turned  round  and 
laughed  harshly.  She  was  looking  altogether  differ- 
ent from  the  charming,  tactful,  gracious  creature  who 
usually  spent  her  time  walking  from  one  to  another 
among  the  guests,  smoothing  the  rough  places  and 
making  herself  popular  with  everyone. 

"  Can't  you  guess  ?  "  was  all  she  said. 

And  then  she  turned  her  head  disdainfully  away 
again,  and  resumed  her  strenuous  watch  of  the  pro- 
ceedings in  the  adjoining  room. 

By  this  time  Cecil  Jones  had  seen  his  orders  carried 


296  THE  DAZZLING 

out  in  the  card-room,  had  muttered  a  low-voiced 
apology  to  one  of  the  guests,  a  sporting  man  of  some 
social  standing,  whom  he  recognized,  and  had  then 
advanced  towards  the  group  in  the  doorway.  Look- 
ing carefully  among  them,  he  said,  addressing  the 
constables  who  were  standing  behind  them  — 

"  There  are  two  more  here.  That's  one  of  them," 
and  he  glanced  at  Delia.  "  And  " —  he  turned  again, 
— "  there's  the  fifth  and  the  last,"  and  he  indicated 
Cora. 

Arthur  was  up  in  arms.  Struck  with  consternation, 
he  saw  a  constable  beckoning  to  Cora  to  come  out  of 
the  crowd  which  surrounded  her.  The  girl,  with  a 
frightened  scream,  which  contrasted  strongly  with  the 
calmness  shown  by  the  others,  tried  to  hide  herself 
among  the  crowd.  Arthur  at  once  tried  to  place 
himself  between  her  and  the  police,  so  that  she  might 
make  her  escape,  as  she  appeared  to  wish  to  do,  into 
the  card-room. 

But  Cecil  Jones  was  confronting  her,  and  he  smiled, 
and  said  gently  — 

"  It's  of  no  use,  Mr.  Aldington.  You'd  better  ad- 
vise the  young  lady  to  take  things  quietly.  Espec- 
ially as  we  shall  do  her  but  little  harm." 

Cora,  however,  instead  of  profiting  by  this  advice, 
began  to  weep  so  violently,  to  utter  so  many  hyster- 
ical protests  that  she  "  had  had  nothing  to  do  with 
it,  nothing  whatever,  that  they  told  her  it  would  be 
all  right,  and  that  they  ought  to  confess  it  now," 


MISS  DAY  I  SON  297 

that  Cecil  Jones  made  a  sign  to  two  of  the  constables, 
who  gently  made  their  way  through  the  group  of 
guests,  and  taking  the  weeping  girl  by  the  arms,  led 
her  back  into  the  middle  room,  with  Arthur  Alding- 
ton, protesting  indignantly,  in  close  attendance. 

When  once  she  was  free  from  the  pressure  of  the 
crowd,  however,  Cora  suddenly  resisted  the  attempts 
which  they  were  about  to  make  to  lay  her  on  the  sofa, 
and  springing  upright,  said  — 

"  If  you'll  let  me  go  I'll  tell  you  everything  I 
know.  It  isn't  really  very  much,  and  I'm  real  sorry 
now  I  ever  took  up  with  these  people.  My  engage- 
ment was  to  sing,  that's  all:  one  hundred  and  fifty 
dollars  a  day,  and  expenses.  And  I  was  to  know 
nothing.  Well,  and  I  don't  know  anything,  except 
that  the  police  have  come  in.  Now  you'll  let  me  go, 
won't  you  ?  " 

"  I  don't  suppose  you'll  be  detained  long,  miss," 
said  one  of  the  men.  "  But  as  your  name  has  been 
given  us  with  the  rest,  we're  bound  to  take  you  before 
the  magistrate  with  them.  It  won't  be  more  than  a 
formal  business  as  far  as  you're  concerned,  I  daresay, 
if  you  can  prove  what  you've  told  us." 

"  But  I  don't  want  to  be  taken  off  as  if  I  were  a 
criminal,"  said  Cora  plaintively.  "  It's  not  fair ! " 

"  Let  me  be  answerable  for  the  lady's  appearance 
at  any  time  you  may  want  her,"  said  Arthur  quickly. 

But  the  ungrateful  Cora  turned  upon  him  and 
stamped  her  foot. 


298  THE  DAZZLING 

"  Oh,  no,"  she  said,  "  I'll  not  have  you  answer- 
able for  me.  I'd  rather  go  through  it  myself.  I've 
had  to  be  civil  to  everybody  so  long  that  now  I  must 
just  speak  out  and  freely  say  what's  in  my  mind. 
Mr.  Aldington,  you're  a  fool.  You  might  have 
known  how  things  were  going,  as  your  friend  Buck- 
land  did.  He's  made  himself  safe,  and  I  respect  him 
for  it.  He's  taken  care  to  be  on  the  right  side." 

Arthur  was  stupefied  by  this  rebuff.  Retreating 
with  a  few  muttered  words,  neither  very  coherent  nor 
very  intelligible,  he  turned  and  met  Delia  who  had 
made  no  attempt  to  resist  the  constables,  and  who 
stood  erect  between  two  of  them,  with  an  air  of  bore- 
dom upon  her  handsome  face. 

"  What  will  they  do  with  us  ?  "  she  asked  Arthur 
quite  simply.  "  Will  we  get  the  same  as  those  men  ?  " 

"  Do  you  mean  your  brothers  ?  " 

She  glanced  behind  her  with  an  air  of  superb 
disdain. 

"Brothers?"  she  echoed,  with  much  scorn. 
"  Those  fellows  our  brothers  ?  No.  And  we  aren't 
sisters,  either,  or  daughters  to  that  old  woman. 
We're  each  on  our  own.  And  there's  no  credit  in 
owning  it,  as  I  guess  you  folks  know  all  about  us,  as 
much  as  we  know  ourselves." 

Arthur  was  astounded. 

She  smiled  at  him  scornfully. 

"  Well,  we've  had  a  good  time ! "  she  said  at  last, 
in  a  half-regretful  tone.  "  You  Britishers  are  mighty 


MISS  D  AVI  SON  299 

easy  to  gull,  aren't  you?  One  has  only  got  to  call 
oneself  a  millionaire,  to  speak  with  an  accent  that 
wouldn't  be  tolerated  on  our  side,  and  to  give  one's 
address  as  Chicago,  and  the  best  of  you  are  ready  to 
open  your  arms  —  and  your  pockets.  So,  if  you're 
taken  in  now  and  then,  it's  not  surprising." 

"  Then  —  aren't  you  —  anything  to  do  with  — - 
the  millionaire?  "  gasped  Arthur. 

"  Just  wish  we  were !  "  replied  Delia  simply ;  "  no 
such  luck.  We're  just  a  mixed  lot  of  adventurers 
and  adventuresses,  making  a  common  cause  to  ease  the 
pockets  of  your  silly  society  folk,  and  to  get  ourselves 
a  pleasant  time.  If  it  had  only  lasted  a  little  longer," 
she  added,  with  a  sigh,  "  we'd  each  have  landed  a  stock- 
broker or  one  of  your  wooden-headed  baronets,  and 
then  we'd  have  been  fixed  up  to  rights ! " 

Arthur  turned  slowly  to  look  at  Cora.  She  had 
dried  her  eyes,  and  was  sitting  rather  disconsolately  on 
the  sofa,  while  the  constables  who  had  charge  of  both 
these  younger  ladies  remained  at  a  moderate  distance, 
satisfied  that  they  had  them  both  under  observa- 
tion. 

A  moment  later,  there  was  a  movement  in  the  group 
round  the  door  which  led  to  the  card-room,  and  Mrs. 
Van  Santen,  closely  guarded  by  two  constables,  came 
in.  At  the  sight  of  the  two  girls,  she  ran  forward 
and  would  have  thrown  herself  on  Delia's  neck,  with 
a  smothered  sob  and  a  cry  of  "  My  daughter ! "  but 
Delia  avoided  her  embrace  and  said  shortly  — 


300  THE  DAZZLING 

"  Oh,  we've  had  enough  of  this.  We're  going  to 
tell  the  truth,  all  that  we  know.  Our  contract's  ended 
now,  and  we  must  save  ourselves." 

Mrs.  Van  Santen  at  once  became  a  changed  woman. 
The  sweet  look  of  tenderness  with  which  she  had  flown 
towards  Delia  altered  to  a  hard  expression  of  anger 
and  resentment,  as  she  stopped  short  and  putting  her 
head  on  one  side,  said  — 

"  Say,  have  you  given  us  all  away,  then  ?  " 

"  No,"  answered  Delia  shortly.  "  You  have  to 
thank  those  two  card-sharpers  in  there  for  doing 
that." 

"  Do  you  mean  my  sons  ?  " 

"  No,  you  haven't  any  sons,"  retorted  Delia,  who 
seemed  to  take  a  sort  of  calm  delight  in  making  her 
confession  as  complete  and  as  public  as  possible. 
"  Those  two  men  whom  you  call  your  sons  are  no 
more  children  of  yours  than  they  are  brothers  of  ours. 
They're  just  a  pair  of  swindlers  who  don't  know  how 
to  swindle  without  being  found  out." 

She  made  this  statement  calmly,  in  a  high,  clear 
voice,  not  without  a  rather  cleverly  devised  intention 
of  being  heard  and  applauded  by  the  people  present, 
including  the  police. 

She  was  old  enough  to  know  that  her  share  and  that 
of  the  singing  girl  Cora,  having  been  entirely  passive 
and  showy,  rather  than  actively  useful  in  the  swind- 
ling practices  carried  on  by  their  male  confederates, 
the  punishment  in  store  for  them  could  not  be  on  the 


MISS  D  AVI  SON  301 

same  plane   as  that  earned  by  the  men  themselves. 

And  as  for  Mrs.  Van  Santen,  why,  she  was  old 
enough  and  experienced  enough  to  look  out  for  her- 
self. 

But  this  sudden  change  in  the  attitude  of  her 
adopted  family  seemed  for  a  time  to  disconcert  the 
old  woman,  who  stared  from  Delia  to  Cora  and  back 
again  with  an  air  of  uncertainty  as  to  what  course 
she  should  pursue  in  the  circumstances.  Before  long, 
however,  she  recovered  herself,  and,  turning  to  the 
policeman  who  walked  beside  her  and  who  appeared 
more  vigilant  than  those  who  were  looking  after  the 
younger  women,  she  said,  in  a  hard  voice  — 

"  Well,  you've  got  to  prove  that  there's  anything 
wrong  in  adopting  and  providing  for  three  or  four 
young  creatures  who  are  not  your  own  children  by 
birth;  and  that's  the  worst  thing  you  can  accuse  me 
of,  anyhow." 

"  Nobody  has  accused  you  of  anything,  ma'am," 
said  one  of  the  officers.  "  And  you'd  best  not  say 
anything  more,  else  it  may  be  used  against  you  pres- 
ently." 

But  Mrs.  Van  Santen,  alias  Catherine  Burge, 
laughed  in  his  face. 

"  You  needn't  tell  me  that,"  she  said.  "  I've  had 
some  dealings  with  your  sort  before,  as  some  of  you 
know.  I  don't  deny  it.  But  that  has  nothing  to 
do  with  my  conduct  now,  and  I  tell  you  there's  noth- 
ing to  be  proved  against  me  but  too  large  a  heart." 


302  THE  DAZZLING 

"  Well,  ma'am,  you  confine  yourself  to  proving 
that  when  you're  before  the  magistrates,  and  you 
won't  come  to  much  harm  if  you  succeed." 

But  in  spite  of  the  purity  of  her  intentions,  the 
old  lady  did  not  look  quite  satisfied  on  this  point. 
And  Gerard  Buckland,  when  he  came  out  of  the  card- 
room  a  minute  later  in  search  of  Miss  Davison,  saw 
that  his  gentle  old  New  Englander  had  been  trans- 
formed into  a  hard-featured  virago  who  glared  at 
him  with  a  suspicious  eye. 

The  sight  of  him  roused  the  savage  slumbering  in 
her  breast.  She  even  made  a  half  attempt  to  rush 
towards  him,  but  a  movement  on  the  part  of  the  near- 
est policeman  made  her  pause. 

"  I  know  who  you're  looking  for,  Mr.  Gerard  Buck- 
land,"  she  said.  "  And  I  wish  I  knew  myself  where 
to  find  her.  She'd  not  leave  this  house  with  her 
demure  face  unscratched  if  I  could ! " 

Gerard,  who  had  begun  to  make  a  shrewd  guess  as 
to  the  reason  of  Miss  Davison's  disappearance,  knew 
better  than  to  attempt  to  dispute  with  the  angry 
woman. 

He  looked  at  Arthur  Aldington,  with  a  question- 
ing upraising  of  the  eyebrows,  which  the  other  rightly 
understood  to  be  an  invitation  to  accompany  him  on 
his  departure. 

Arthur,  still  unwilling  to  leave  Cora,  who  mean- 
while had  ungratefully  turned  her  back  upon  him  and 


MISS  DAVISON  303 

was  sitting  close  to  Delia  on  the  sofa,  talking  to  her 
in  a  low  voice,  coughed  to  attract  the  attention  of 
the  girl  who  had  enchanted  him. 

Cora  looked  carelessly  over  her  shoulder. 

"  Isn't  there  anything  I  can  do  for  you?  "  he  asked 
in  a  low,  hoarse  voice. 

"  Nothing  whatever,  thank  you,"  she  replied  coldly. 
"  I've  done  with  all  of  you.  I've  had  to  be  civil  long 
enough ;  now  I  can  be  natural,  and  —  good-bye." 

She  held  out  her  hand  quite  abruptly  and  coldly. 

He  took  it,  held  it  for  a  moment  in  fingers  that 
trembled,  and  then,  dropping  it  with  just  one  re- 
proachful look  at  her,  would  almost  have  staggered 
as  he  went  away,  but  for  Gerard,  who  took  him  by 
the  arm,  and  led  him  to  the  inner  door. 

It  was  locked. 

"  May  we  go  out  ?  "  asked  Gerard  of  the  nearest 
policeman. 

There  was  a  pause,  and  the  man  went  into  the  next 
room  to  consult  Cecil  Jones,  came  back  with  the  key 
of  the  door,  opened  it,  and  silently  let  the  two  young 
men  into  the  hall. 

Here  a  couple  of  frightened  maid-servants  and  a 
sullen  footman  were  sitting  on  the  stairs,  discussing 
the  amazing  situation. 

"  Has  Miss  Davison  gone  away  ?  "  asked  Gerard  of 
one  of  them. 

But  she  only  shook  her  head,  and,  looking  horribly 


304  THE  DAZZLING  MISS  DAVISON 

alarmed,  told  him  that  she  knew  nothing,  and  that 
they  had  been  warned  not  to  say  anything  to  anybody 
except  the  police. 

With  which  discomfiting  information  the  two  young 
men  had  to  be  content,  as  they  went  out  of  the  Priory 
for  the  last  time. 


CHAPTER  XXIV,  AND  LAST 

THEY  walked  in  silence  down  the  drive,  with  that  sink- 
ing of  the  heart  inevitable  when  a  pleasant  time  comes 
suddenly  to  an  end.  But  there  was  more  than  this  to 
trouble  them  both.  The  thoughts  of  the  young  men 
were  with  the  girls  who  had  enchanted  them.  Arthur 
was  pondering,  with  the  deepest  pain,  the  terrible 
awakening  he  had  had  only  a  short  time  before,  from 
the  dream  that  he  had  found  a  pearl  among  women, 
a  very  queen  of  girls. 

He  had  made  up  his  mind  to  take  courage,  and  to 
ask  Cora  to  be  his  wife,  although  he  was  afraid  that 
his  own  prospects,  good  as  they  were,  might  not 
seem  golden  enough  to  tempt  the  parents  of  the  sweet- 
voiced  Cora  to  yield  their  consent  to  his  wooing. 

But  of  Cora  herself  he  had  entertained  no  doubts. 
And  to  find  that  the  charms  which  had  fascinated  him, 
the  bright  wit  which  had  amused  him,  had  been  merely 
part  of  the  stock-in-trade  of  one  of  a  party  of  ad- 
venturers, bent  on  making  a  good  thing  out  of  British 
credulity  while  their  time  of  prosperity  lasted,  was 
such  a  shock  that  it  left  him  dazed,  unable  to  think  or 
to  understand. 

305 


306  THE  DAZZLING 

Gerard,  on  his  side,  though  he  was  not  suffering, 
like  his  friend,  from  a  great  disillusion,  was  in  a  state 
of  terrible  anxiety. 

Where  was  Rachel?  Had  she  compromised  herself 
with  these  adventurers?  And  had  she  alone  of  them 
all  had  the  cleverness  to  escape  the  net  laid  for  their 
feet  by  the  police? 

Or  was  she,  as  he  thought  much  more  probable,  the 
accomplice  of  Cecil  Jones,  and  his  assistant  in  bring- 
ing the  Americans  to  justice? 

Neither  possibility  was  pleasant  to  contemplate. 
If  she  were  one  of  the  friends  of  these  Americans, 
even  though  she  might  extricate  herself  from  all  sus- 
picion of  being  concerned  in  their  misdoings,  she 
could  not  fail  to  be  dragged  into  a  most  unpleasant 
case,  the  publicity  of  which  might  perhaps  offend,  if 
not  alienate,  her  best  friends. 

If,  on  the  other  hand,  as  seemed  much  more  prob- 
able, she  should  prove  to  have  been  the  accomplice 
of  Cecil  Jones,  it  was  distasteful  to  contemplate  her 
having  assisted  in  exposing  the  people  who  passed  as 
her  friends  and  who  gave  her  the  shelter  of  their 
roof. 

On  the  whole,  therefore,  it  was  in  a  state  of  con- 
siderable perplexity  and  distress  that  Gerard  accom- 
panied his  friend  down  the  drive,  and  turned  into  the 
road. 

Both  young  men  had  come  down  by  train,  and  it 


MISS  DAV1SON  307 

was  towards  the  station  that  they  were  wending  their 
way,  when  they  saw  a  little  way  in  front  of  them  the 
bright  lights  of  a  motor-car. 

Expecting  to  find  that  it  arid  its  occupants  had 
some  connection  with  the  police  surprise  at  the  Priory, 
Gerard  and  Arthur  walked  quickly  up  to  it  and  per- 
ceived that  the  man  in  a  big  overcoat,  who  was  stand- 
ing beside  it,  was  no  other  than  Cecil  Jones. 

"  Ah ! "  said  he,  making  a  gesture  with  his  hand 
to  stop  them,  "  here  he  comes !  " 

The  young  men,  rather  disconcerted,  stopped  and 
looked  at  him  aggressively.  They  felt  that  upon  his 
shoulders  lay  the  burden  of  the  brusque  manner  in 
which  the  crisis  at  the  Priory  had  taken  place. 

"  You  are  from  Scotland  Yard,  I  suppose  ?  "  said 
Gerard  stiffly. 

Jones  nodded  with  a  genial  smile.  But  it  was 
strange  how  that  smile  of  his,  which  used  to  seem  so 
imbecile  and  irritating  when  they  had  taken  him  for  a 
fool,  or  an  amiable  decoy,  seemed  to  have  grown 
astute  and  intelligent  now  that  they  knew  him  for 
what  he  was,  a  detective  of  remarkably  well  developed 
histrionic  powers  and  the  keenest  of  keen  eyes. 
Jones  nodded. 

Gerard  glanced  at  the  car,  and  Jones  stepped 
back. 

"There's  someone  you  know  inside,"  he  said  with 
a  dry  smile. 


308  THE  DAZZLING 

He  was  gently,  mildly  triumphant,  satisfied  with 
having  brought  off  a  coup  which  would  redound 
greatly  to  his  credit. 

Gerard  guessed  whom  he  should  see  as  he  stepped 
up  to  the  side  of  the  car.  And,  just  as  he  had  ex- 
pected, he  saw  Miss  Davison  inside,  leaning  back  in 
one  corner,  with  her  eyes  closed,  and  a  look  of  weari- 
ness that  was  almost  pain  upon  her  handsome,  pale 
face. 

But  it  was  the  sight  of  the  man  seated  beside  her 
which  caused  Gerard  to  utter  an  exclamation,  and  to 
look  in  stupefaction  from  Rachel  to  him  and  from 
him  to  Cecil  Jones. 

For,  sitting  in  the  car  beside  Miss  Davison,  wrapped 
in  a  fur-lined  motor-coat  and  with  a  cap  drawn  well 
down  over  his  eyes,  was  the  distinguished-looking 
man  with  the  white  mustache  whom  Gerard  had  been 
accustomed  to  look  upon  as  her  evil  genius. 

"  Let  me  introduce  Mr.  Buckland,  Colonel,"  said 
Cecil  Jones,  as  he  came  up  to  the  side  of  the  car  and 
leaned  upon  the  door. 

But  at  the  name  Miss  Davison  sat  up,  and  leaning 
towards  the  man  by  her  side,  whispered  loud  enough 
for  Gerard  to  hear  — 

"  Oh,  uncle,  I  may  tell  him  now,  may  I  not?  " 

Some  inkling  of  the  truth,  the  whole  truth,  was  al- 
ready beginning  to  glimmer  in  Gerard's  brain,  but  he 
was  not  to  know  all  just  yet. 

The  man  with  the  white  mustache  shook  his  head, 


MISS  D  AVI  SON  309 

whispered  something  back,  and  then  said  aloud,  hold- 
ing out  his  hand  to  Gerard  — 

"  I'm  very  pleased  to  meet  you,  Mr.  Buckland. 
I've  heard  a  great  deal  about  you  from  my  niece. 
But  I  ought  to  introduce  myself.  My  name  is 
Ormsby,  Colonel  Ormsby." 

Gerard  could  scarcely  refrain  from  uttering  a  cry. 
For  he  had  suddenly  remembered  that  the  face  of  the 
man  with  the  white  mustache,  which  had  roused  faint 
recollections  which  he  could  not  fix  in  his  mind,  was 
that  of  a  certain  gallant  officer  who  had  been  made 
chief  constable  of  one  of  the  large  provincial  towns, 
and  who  had  distinguished  himself  not  many  years  be- 
fore in  an  important  criminal  case  which  was  still  in 
the  public  mind. 

Further  glimmerings  as  to  Miss  Davison's  position 
began  to  appear  in  Gerard's  mind. 

Meanwhile  Cecil  Jones  had  said  a  few  words  in  a 
low  voice  to  the  colonel,  and  raising  his  hat  to  the 
lady,  had  walked  back  towards  the  Priory  at  a  brisk 
pace,  accompanied  by  another  man  who  had  remained 
quietly  in  the  background  during  the  few  minutes  that 
this  introduction  lasted. 

The  colonel  asked  the  two  young  men  whether  they 
would  go  back  to  town,  and  on  receiving  their  thanks, 
he  made  way  for  them  to  enter  the  car,  which  im- 
mediately started  on  its  journey. 

Very  little  was  said  by  anybody  until  town  was 
reached. 


310  THE  DAZZLING 

Miss  Davison,  who  seemed  thoroughly  exhausted, 
scarcely  opened  her  eyes,  but  sat  back  in  her  corner, 
from  time  to  time  inhaling  the  contents  of  a  bottle 
of  lavender  salts  which  she  held  in  her  hand. 

The  colonel  sat  next  to  her,  and  Gerard  on  the 
outer  side,  while  Arthur  Aldington  occupied  the  seat 
beside  the  driver. 

It  was  a  very  long  time  before  Colonel  Ormsby 
said  anything  about  the  affair  at  the  Priory.  But 
just  as  they  were  driving  through  the  outskirts  of 
London,  and  Miss  Davison  was  rousing  herself  and 
putting  up  her  hands  to  rearrange  her  hat,  he  whis- 
pered in  the  young  man's  ear  — 

"  You've  been  present  to-day  at  the  capture  of  one 
of  the  most  dangerous  card-sharping  and  blackmail- 
ings  gangs  in  Europe.  They'll  each  get  seven 
years." 

"  Blackmailing?  "  echoed  Gerard,  horrorstruck. 

The  colonel  nodded. 

"  They  hadn't  begun  that  game  over  here  yet,  but 
they  wouldn't  have  been  long  in  starting,  if  they 
hadn't  been  laid  by  the  heels.  That  old  woman  is 
the  author  of  more  mischief  than  would  suffice  to  keep 
half  a  dozen  criminal  courts  busy." 

Gerard  uttered  an  exclamation  of  surprise. 

"  But  the  name  —  isn't  she  Mrs.  Van  Santen?  "  he 
asked  appalled. 

"  No.     There  is  a  Mrs.  Van  Santen,  who  lives  in  an 


MISS  D  AVI  SON  311 

out-of-the-way  town  in  the  States,  and  whose  husband 
has  made  his  pile  in  railway  stocks;  but  she  has  noth- 
ing to  do  with  them,  nor  have  the  other  members 
of  the  gang.  Each  has  a  different  surname  or, 
rather,  a  dozen." 

"  And  the  women  —  the  others  ?  " 

"  I  don't  know  anything  of  the  one  who  calls  her- 
self Delia ;  but  there  is  probably  a  history  behind  her 
good-looking  mask.  The  other  is  a  public  singer  — 
married  — " 

"  Married  ?  "  echoed  Gerard. 

"  Yes  —  husband  in  America,  or  was.  She  may 
now  be  the  wife  of  the  man  who  calls  himself  Harry 
Van  Santen.  He's  a  precious  scoundrel,  the  worse  of 
the  two,  if  anything." 

Gerard  was  appalled.  The  thought  that  Miss 
Davison  had  been  living  under  the  same  roof  with 
these  dangerous  criminals  was  terrible,  and  he  stam- 
mered out  something  of  his  thoughts. 

The  colonel  glanced  at  him  quickly,  and  nodded. 

"  Only  a  woman  of  the  finest  pluck  and  the  most 
indomitable  spirit  could  have  done  it.  The  strain 
must  have  been  tremendous,"  he  said.  "  However, 
we  couldn't  have  brought  things  to  a  head  without  her 
help." 

"  To  play  the  spy  —  on  the  people  who  thought 
she  was  their  friend !  "  stammered  Gerard. 

"  That's  not  exactly  the  case,"  returned  the  colonel 


THE  DAZZLING 

in  a  voice  too  low  for  his  niece  to  hear.  "  She  helped 
to  keep  the  house  going.  I  know,  for  we  supplied  the 
money." 

Gerard  uttered  an  exclamation. 

Then  he  sat  back  as  if  stunned. 

"  Then  she  is  —  a  detective !  "  he  almost  gasped. 

"  Well,  she  has  been  acting  in  that  capacity,"  ad- 
mitted Colonel  Ormsby.  "  I  wish  she  would  go  on 
with  the  career.  She  began  it  at  my  suggestion,  on 
my  fervent  advice.  She  has  been  a  great  success,  an 
unparalleled  success.  If  you  were  wise,  you,  as  I  un- 
derstand, have  great  influence  with  her,  would  advise 
her  to  keep  on  with  it." 

Gerard  said  nothing.  He  did  not  see  the  look  of 
keen  anxiety  on  the  face  of  Rachel,  who  had  gathered 
some  part  of  their  conversation,  and  who  knew  what 
the  subject  was  that  they  were  discussing. 

They  went  on  in  silence  until  Piccadilly  was  reached. 
Then  the  colonel  turned  to  his  niece. 

"  My  dear,  where  are  you  going  to  stay  to-night  ? 
Will  you  put  up  at  my  hotel?  " 

She  shook  her  head. 

"  I've  kept  on  the  lodgings  in  Duke  Street,"  said 
she.  "  I  think  I'll  go  there.  And  you  can  come  and 
see  me  in  the  morning,  and  take  me  to  Lady  Jennings'. 
I  can't  feel  happy  till  I've  told  the  dear  old  thing 
everything." 

"Very  well,  my  dear.  Then  I'll  tell  Marks  to 
drive  to  Duke  Street." 


MISS  D  AVI  SON  313 

They  drove  on,  and  Miss  Davison  was  helped  out 
by  the  gentlemen,  and  Gerard  thanked  the  colonel  for 
having  brought  him  so  far  on  his  way,  and  let  the 
car  drive  away  without  him. 

For  Miss  Davison  had  given  him  a  look  which  he 
took  for  permission  to  speak  to  her.  And  as  the  car 
drove  down  the  street,  they  walked  up  it,  side  by  side, 
in  the  quiet  night. 

"  Now,"  said  she,  with  a  weary  air  of  being  glad 
to  get  rid  of  a  burden,  "  you  know  everything.  You 
can  see  why  it  was  impossible  for  me  to  tell  you  any- 
thing. I  was  under  promise  —  oath  —  not  to  let  any 
creature  on  earth  know  what  I  was  and  what  my  work 
was.  I  was  fully  sheltered  by  the  fact  that  it  was 
my  uncle  who  had  started  me  on  this  most  distasteful 
but  most  remunerative  career,  and  though  I  have  often 
asked  him  to  release  me,  he  has  always  refused  until 
I  could  assist  in  carrying  out  some  sensational  feat,  to 
justify,  as  he  said,  his  choice  of  me  for  this  career." 

"  And  he  has  released  you  now  ?  " 

"  Of  course.  If  he  had  not,  you  would  have  known 
nothing,  you  would  have  been  told  nothing." 

"  You  might  have  trusted  me,"  said  Gerard  re- 
proachfully. 

She  turned  upon  him  quickly. 

"  I  could  trust  no  one,"  she  said.  "  A  word,  nay, 
a  look,  while  I  was  living  under  the  same  roof  with  a 
gang  of  dangerous  criminals,  might  have  been  death 
to  me.  I  knew  that,  while  I  was  staying  with  them, 


314  THE  DAZZLING 

I  carried  my  life  in  my  hand.  It  was  by  far  the 
worst  experience  I  have  ever  had,  and  I  could  not  have 
gone  through  with  it,  could  not  have  stood  the  strain 
of  being  always  on  the  watch  for  the  proofs  which  I 
had  to  hoard  up  to  communicate  to  the  police,  but  for 
my  uncle's  promise  that  it  should  be  the  last,  the  very 
last  thing  he  would  call  upon  me  to  do." 

Gerard  involuntarily  heaved  a  deep  sigh  of  thank- 
fulness. 

"  And  you  have  done  with  it  ?  "  he  said. 

"  Yes." 

His  tone  grew  harder. 

"  For  the  time,  that  is,  of  course.  You  will  prob- 
ably find  your  way  back  when  you  are  asked  by  the 
friends  you  have  formed.  It  was  Cecil  Jones  who  ac- 
companied you  everywhere,  wasn't  it?  When  you 
detected  pickpockets  in  a  crowd,  and  handed  him  the 
stolen  property?  When  you  accompanied  him  to 
the  police  station  to  give  evidence  against  the  shop- 
lifter at  the  stores  — " 

"  You  thought  /  was  the  shop-lifter !  "  said  Miss 
Davison  demurely. 

"  Well,  I  know  better  now.  As  I  say,  you  always 
had  this  Jones — " 

"  Whose  name  is  not  Jones  at  all." 

"  Well,  you  had  this  fellow  who  calls  himself  Jones 
to  help  you  and  to  stand  by  you." 

"  Yes.  My  uncle,  who  gives  advice  to  the  police 
in  important  cases  still,  though  he  has  practically  re- 


MISS  DAVISON  315 

tired,  picked  out  this  man  as  one  he  could  rely  upon 
to  help  me." 

"  And  now  I  suppose  you  will  marry  him  ?  "  said 
Gerard  fiercely. 

Miss  Davison  looked  demurely  down  on  the  pave- 
ment. 

"  He  has  a  wife,"  she  said,  "  and  three,  if  not  four, 
children." 

"  Thank  God !  " 

Miss  Davison  suddenly  stopped  and  held  out  her 
hand. 

"  Good-night,"  said  she,  "  Mr.  Buckland,  and  - 
good-bye." 

He  took  her  hand  and  held  it  in  his  own,  which  was 
trembling. 

"Must  it  be  good-bye,  Rachel?"  he  said 
hoarsely. 

"  Surely,"  said  she,  with  a  little  forced,  weary 
laugh,  "  you  don't  want  to  remain  a  friend  of  an  ex- 
detective  ! " 

Gerard  burst  into  a  tirade  of  which  the  salient 
features  were  that  he  would  have  remained  her  friend 
if  she  had  actually  been  one  of  the  gang  themselves, 
if  she  had  been  a  card-sharper,  if  she  had  been  a  shop- 
lifter, if  she  had  been  a  pick-pocket.  He  loved  her, 
and  he  knew  that,  whatever  she  might  have  done,  she 
would  never  have  been  anything  at  heart  but  the  noble 
and  good  woman  whom  he  loved  as  he  had  always 
done. 


316  THE  DAZZLING  MISS  DAVISON 

He  behaved  indeed  so  irrationally,  he  expressed  his 
love  and  devotion  in  so  many  impassioned  and  absurd 
speeches,  he  looked  so  earnest  and  he  spoke  so  tenderly, 
that  Miss  Davison,  if  she  could  in  any  case  have  held 
out  till  morning,  was  softened,  and  gave  way  there  and 
then.  Gave  way,  that  is  to  say,  to  the  extent  of  tell- 
ing him  that  he  was  an  absurd  boy,  and  that  he  might, 
if  he  liked,  and  if  he  had  nothing  better  to  do,  take 
her  to  see  Lady  Jennings  on  the  following  day. 

And,  as  there  was  no  one  in  the  street,  she  let  him 
kiss  her  when  he  said  good-night. 


THE    END 


UC  SOUTHERN  REGIONAL  LIBRARY  FACILITY 


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